Indirect Date
by Aist MoonSun
Summary: Ladybug was awfully distracted one night while patrolling, and she accidentally accepts a date with the flirtatious Chat Noir.
1. Distracted

**First Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic! This idea just popped into my head while eating ice cream. Hope you enjoy!**

 **All characters belong to our extremely awesome Hawkdaddy!**

* * *

She was fidgeting with her fingers ever since she started her walk to school; her blue eyes were wide open and her breathing was quick. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was certainly nervous.

"It'll be alright Marinette. How can he say no?"Tikki said.

 _Yeah, maybe Tikki is righ_ t, Marinette thought as she met up with Alya at the school main door. She was expecting a "hi" from her friend, instead Alya began to question her.

"Are you ready?" she crossed her arms across her chest and looked at the secret superhero straight in the eye.

The navy blue haired girl looked at her, clearly confused. "Ready? For what?"

Alya let out a squeal. "To ask Adrien out of course!" she looked more excited about that idea than Marinette was.

"I never told you that…" Marinette whined as she covered her blush with both of her hands. She would remember if she told Alya all about the plan, and she bet her secret identity that she didn't tell the journalist.

The brown-red head giggled. "You've been mumbling about it all week last week!" she exclaimed.

That's when it hit; Marinette had been talking to Tikki about it over and over. She mentally face palmed herself for not being a bit more discreet. She let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just… I just wanted to this on my on you know. I realized that if I want some progress with Adrien, I had to stop being nervous around him." she concluded.

Alya was near to dramatically tears and hugged her best friend. "Oh I'm so proud of you!" she said, the pride in her voice could clearly be heard.

Marinette hugged back, she smiled. "I've had a good teacher!" she said, they both laughed.

"Hey girls! What's up?" Nino asked as he walked towards the girls. Both of them waved at Nino. "Adrien will be here any minute now." He teased with a cheeky grin.

"Nino!" the Chinese-French scolded with a blush.

Alya and Nino were actually good friends, it was wasn't long after that Nino began to help the journalist try to get the designer and the model together for good.

Nino once told Alya that he was getting tired of Adrien being so oblivious. "It's just so frustrating!" He said once.

Adrien's car pulled up on the sidewalk and the boy climbed out of the vehicle. He smiled widely when he saw Nino, Alya and Marinette.

"There he comes…" Nino and Alta cooed. The designer rolled her eyes and clutched her books tighter to her chest. "Good morning." He said once he reached them.

She felt excited, nervous, thrilled; it wasn't the same thrill she felt as Ladybug, but it was a kind of thrill that came up when she played out all the scenarios her mind would create, it was a thrill that felt like hope. All Marinette whished now was that Chloe or Hawkmoth wouldn't interrupt her plan. _I hope my good luck is on my side today_ , she thought,

"Good morning Adrien." Alya and Nino replied instantly, but Marinette hadn't uttered a word, Adrien was wearing the scarf she made for him, she was just glad that he was happy.

Hope, it was something she wanted everyone to have. She never gave her hopes down for Adrien, she knew it was possible, she could make it possible. Marinette gave Adrien some hope when she said nothing about her making that scarf, she gave him the hope that his father actually cared for her, that his father loved his son…

"You okay Marinette? You look a bit flushed." Adrien brought her back to reality and flushed a bit more.

"N-No, I-I'm fine, I-I just feel a little… hot, yeah. It's warm today." She mumbled.

Adrien looked at her funny, it was actually cold that day. The sun was only providing them with light instead of warmth; that was the reason why Adrien had brought his scarf. "Oh yeah, very warm." He said as he winked at her. Marinette's heart fluttered when he did that, she managed a small smile.

"Adrieen~" That was Chloe, she was running towards then and she dragged him away from his friends, the model let out a sound of annoyance though.

"Hey… Chloe." He said, the annoyance and disappointment was clear in his voice, his childhood friend (If he were to call her like that,) was always dragging him away at the wrong times.

"Hey Adrien~" she cooed with a flutter of her eyes. Adrien swore he saw mini hearts float behind her, and that made him uneasy. "I was hoping you could sign… this?" she asked him hopefully as she held out only a small fragment of the roll of paper she had in her arms. The blonde frowned, this was the second time she asked him this, he knew it was a poster of him because they recently released one last Friday. Plus, last time she wrote something on the poster he didn't know about and made some other girls feel bad, he didn't want that to happen again.

"Look Chloe, you know how I feel about autographs. No." he said firmly. He raised his hand to stop Chloe from saying anything else and left with no other words. But he could hear the complaints and cries of frustration that were directed towards Sabrina, like she was at fault. Adrien grimaced at that; he didn't like that about his _friend_ … she was always bossy towards the others. _I feel bad for her_ , he thought.

He opened his locker and started to take his books out.

"Psst! Got any cheese?" Plagg asked from inside Adrien's shirt. That kwami cat was always hungry for cheese.

The boy sighed and smiled as he gave his kwami some cheese, Plagg let out a sound of joy as he swallowed it whole.

"Now let's get to class lazy cat."

* * *

By the time Adrien had a free period, lunch time had already passed, and Marinette knew exactly where he liked to go in that free time. She knew no one else went to the library because they had other things to do. But Marinette had a priority, and it was to talk to Adrien.

She excused herself from Alya and Nino, saying that she needed to use the washroom. It wasn't a complete lie, but she needed to talk to Tikki. She closed the door and locked it once she was sure that she was the only one there.

"Tikki! I don't know if I'm able to do it, if I had the mask on it would be much easier." She grumbled. The red kwami pet her head.

"But Marinette, you are Ladybug, she is part of you, and she's inside of you, you make her feel alive." Tikki said as she looked at her human with a warm smile.

"But it's your magic too, and people don't know who I am, they don't know that I am plain old Marinette…"

"Mari, you are her and she is you. All you have to do is to believe in yourself, you are brave and strong. Marinette is a brave, intelligent and strong girl, and you are so much more than that. No go and tell Adrien what you want to tell him and get over it. The worse he can say is no, but I doubt he'll even say that. Now go Marinette!" Tikki ordered sternly, which made the Miraculous holder salute and walk out of the washroom. Tikki hid in her jacket quickly before she left, she needed to help Marinette.

 _I can do this, I can do this,_ Marinette chanted inside her head. She walked inside the library before heading out towards Adrien's favourite section. She turned around a corner and saw him there reading casually. _Okay, this is your opportunity, Chloe, Nino and Alya aren't here, and it's just you and Adrien._ The thought that she was alone with her crush made her blush immediately. She took a deep breath before walking towards him. "A-Adrien?" she said.

The blonde looked up from his book and smiled brightly when he saw who was talking to him. His scarf was covering his ears and mouth, so he lowered it; but his smile never disappeared. "Hey Marinette, did you enjoy lunch?" he asked.

At lunch, Marinette had brought a few treats from her parent's bakery because Alya asked her to bring some. Little did the young baker know what her best friend had planned. She invited Nino and Adrien to eat with them, she also said that Marinette brought sweets for all of them.

"I like sweets." Adrien had said to her when she took them all. Some were shaped in ladybugs and cats, the others were just random. "Especially ones like these." He had also added when he picked up two ladybug cookies.

"Yeah, it was fun." Marinette replied as she looked at the book Adrien was reading.

"I still need to work on my reading in Chinese…" the blonde muttered. "I get lost sometimes, but practice makes perfect." He said.

'"O-of course, i-if you ever need help, you can always c-call me…" she stuttered. _Did I just say that? Oh my God I just said that!_ Marinette thought in surprise. _I guess Tikki's speech did help._

"Oh right, you're mom is Chinese, right?" Adrien said, when he's shy classmate nodded he grinned."I could stop by one day." He said with a chuckle.

"S-sure. T-that'll be great!" Marinette said, a little to excited. "So um…" she started.

"Yes?" the green eyed boy asked with curiosity. He knew that she didn't just come here and say hi or anything.

"In two days there'll be a baking competition, I'm going to enter and I was wondering… would you like to come?" she went tensing up in every word she said until she was hiding half of her face in her jacket, plus she had her eyes closed. She was glad she didn't stutter at all, but she had certainly spoken fast.

Adrien was wondering why was she so nervous, but he stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. That made her react; she looked up at him and blushed in both embarrassment and how close he was. "I would love to Marinette. Especially if I'm able to try more of your goodies." He said with such a charming smile that Marinette would have fainted.

Her lips curved into a huge smile and she hugged him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said. Adrien was taken by surprise, but when he was about to hug back, Marinette took a few steps back. "Oh! I'm s-so s-sorry! I-I didn't… uh… I didn't mean to!" she excused herself. _Oh my, he might hate me…_ she thought. She jumped slightly when his warm arms wrapped around her and kept her close. Her cheeks turned a bright pink colour but she hugged back.

"You don't have to say sorry Marinette; you were excited and happy that I said yes. There is nothing wrong with that." She said as he looked down at her, he didn't let go though.

"Thanks." Marinette said, this time, she held his arms and leaned back to look at him. "Really, thanks. You don't know how much this means to me." It seemed that she managed to gather up the courage to speak to him without even a stutter.

"Anything for you P—" Adrien stopped himself before he let the word 'Princess' slip out of his mouth. "Anything for you Marinette, anything for a friend." He said. Marinette blushed and grinned slightly, she let go of him.

"See you in class!" she said as she left with a slight bow of her head. She ran out of the library.

"Okay." Adrien replied before she left, he chuckled before pulling the scarf up again. He inhaled and closed his eyes when the scent of vanilla reached his nostrils. _Marinette also smells like vanilla…_ he though as he got lost inside the book he was reading.

"I can't believe that you did it!" Alya squealed once the bell that gave end to school rang. "And you didn't stutter! Oh my! You're growing up Mari!" she was excited indeed. "We have to go get some dinner tonight, whatcha' say? Dinner at my house?"

"Sure Alya. Be there at 6. Bye!" Marinette replied.

"How was school dear?" Sabine, Marinette's mom, asked for perhaps the fifth time.

"Huh? Oh! It was nice… incredible…" she sighed as she looked somewhere with dreamy eyes.

"Well you look very happy today Mari. Make sure to stay that way." Tom, her father, said with a smile. He kissed her forehead.

"I'm going to have dinner with Alya today, she wanted to 'celebrate' my progress with Adrien." The designer said with a smile and a blush, even his name made her flush.

"Sure, just remember to be here before 10."

"Yes mom!" Marinette replied as she climbed up stairs to her room. Once she knew no one was going to climb she called Tikki to come out. "Tikki, thank you so much! Merci beaucoup!" she said as she nuzzled her kwami.

"It was in you, it was always in you and it'll always be when you need it." Tikki said. "You did all the job, but you're welcome either way."

"I'll make you the best cookie I can ever make! I'll make you anything Tikki!" Marinette said as she danced around her room happily. The red kwami giggled, happy to see her human so happy.

* * *

That night, after having dinner with Alya, Ladybug walked over the rooftops, she was still full and she didn't want to get sick from a tummy ache. Though she kept her eyes open, her mind kept on drifting off to Adrien, the hug, what he said, how he said it… his eyes. She occasionally shook her head to clear her thoughts, but they just didn't go away. What she did couldn't get out of her mind, and they way he reacted. She sighed as she stopped and sat at the edge of the building, she kept her mind busy by looking at the stars.  
"Good evening my Lady." Chat Noir greeted with those charming grin of his.

"Hi Chat." Ladybug said glancing at him for a short time and returning her gaze to the stars.

Chat stopped breathing that instant, his Lady's eyes were shinning with so much happiness, and the light of the moon didn't help either. He could just see how the light landed perfectly on his lady, he couldn't help but blush. "Y-you…" he cleared his throat. "You seem happy today milady, more than happy I guess." He said.

Ladybug blushed but smiled. "I had a good day today Chat, how about you? How was _your day?"_

"Fairly good, great I guess." Chat Noir replied while rubbing his neck a bit nervously _. Perhaps I should tell her right now, it seems like a good moment…_ Adrien thought as he took a deep breath. _JE t'aime… je t'aime… Just tell her that, it's easy, je t'aime._

 _You better not mess up._ That was Plagg communicating with his human. _Don't mess it up human._

"My lady?" he asked. The super heroine turned to face him; a warm smile adorned her face; that only made Chat more nervous.

"I… Je t'ahh… je t'ah… um. Wouldyouliketogoonadatewithme?" he spluttered out as he looked at her, his eyes wide. _I messed up…_

 _The heck was that Adrien? What happened to "je t'aime"?, huh? It was simple! Je t'aime! Silly human._ Plagg told him, if he wasn't in the Miraculous ring, the kwami would be scowling and asking why he didn't choose cheese instead.

But the teenager didn't seem at all mad or anything, she still kept her smiling face on. "Sure, why not?" she said with a giggle. "Silly cat." She added.

If Adrien's cat ears were real, they would spring up they would be twitching at the tip, but his tail was held high. Yep, he was happy. "Thank you milady!" he exclaimed. "Meet me up in La Tour Eiffel Friday night at 8. Bye Ladybug!" he said before he sprinted back home, running across the rooftops like a real cat would. He was grinning all the way.

Ladybug just nodded and waved as he left. _She actually said yes! She said yes! Yes_! Adrien was more than happy.

 _You were this close to failing Adrien, very close._

"Oh come on Plagg! I did it!" Chat exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. He let out a whoop of excitement.

 _You owe me a llooot of cheese boy… if it weren't for me helping you, you wouldn't have been able to do that._

Chat jumped into his room and released his transformation. His cheeks were bright red and Plagg was sure that the blonde boy's cheeks would ache by so much smiling. "Yes! I'll give you all the cheese you want Plagg!" he grabbed the kwami and began to spin and run all around the room. He was more than happy, he laughed out loud with glee, tears of happiness slid down his cheeks as he did though. Plagg was getting dizzy but didn't say anything, he didn't see the boy smile genuinely that often and he knew Adrien needed more of that.

His laughter could be heard throughout the whole mansion, Gabriel Agreste was at home that day, Nathalie not far from his side. Behind them were some very important fashion designers from around the world, they were having a very loud conversation but stopped when they heard Adrien's laugh.

Gabriel could be cold, distant and sometimes cruel with his son, but he did all of that for his own good, he loved his son like any father would. He and Nathalie actually had a ghost of a smile on their lips to hear such rare sound.

 _I'd like to hear that more often._ Gabriel thought as he explained that the laughter was from his son to his associates, they nodded and smiled.

 _He needs to do that more often. He needs it._ Nathalie thought as she decided to give Adrien his favourite meal for dinner. Perhaps it looked like she didn't care that much about Gabriel Agreste's son, but the boy was still a child and like every woman, her mother instincts had kicked in. She had decided to be professional around the family; she didn't want to lose her job. She decided to resist the urge to be more dedicated towards Adrien, but sometimes she managed to forget those instincts and become cold and distant to the young Agreste like his father sometimes.

Plagg hadn't said anything to disrupt the boy's moment of joy. He knew that Adrien was like a black cat, lonely and unloved. That was why the Kwami choose him; Adrien could be a free black cat, not a caged one.

But Ladybug didn't know that Adrien was Chat Noir, thing would be different if she knew, very different… But as Marinette, she could hear what Adrien told Nino about his life at home, she always felt bad but was too shy to give him company.

When she got to her family's bakery, she released her transformation, passed Tikki a few sweets and danced around the room a bit, singing a bit to herself. Yes, she was still giddy about Adrien.

Tikki was frowning as she munched on her biscuit. Marinette wasn't paying attention to the poor cat, oh she was in big trouble.

"You heard Chat Noir tonight, right?" Tikki asked trying to sound casual.

The un-transformed hero stopped in cold. "Ehehe… No. I was a little distracted. What did he say?" she asked as she played with her ponytails nervously.

Tikki swallowed what she had in her mouth and rubbed her tummy. "He asked you out on a date at La Tour Eiffel on Friday at 8." She closed her eyes, already waiting for Marinette's screech.

"WHAAAAAAT?!"


	2. Sleepyhead

Marinette didn't sleep well that night, she seemed surprised, scared even. She stared eyes wide at the ceiling for hours. Tikki had tried to get to get some shuteye but the girl wouldn't even respond. The young Dupain would occasionally look out the window, probably expecting Chat Noir to jump in and say, "Are you okay Princess?" At the end she slept sometime around dawn, but waking up would be the next hard step.

"Wake up Marinette!" Tikki had been yelling for about an hour and the Miraculous holder still didn't reply, she didn't even move! The ladybug Kwami tried an alarm clock, stinky clothes, drop something heavy on her. Nothing! "I didn't want to do this." She said as she filled her tiny mouth with water and spit it in the girl's face.

She sprang up from bed, the wild look in her eyes made Tikki more nervous than she already was. "Come on Mari, it's getting late." Marinette was literally dragging her limbs on the floor as she got ready.

When she had managed to get her clothes on and brush her hair decently,(I repeat, _"decently"_.) both of them walked downstairs to get some coffee, but not even the strongest of coffee could wake the unmasked hero.

The walk to school was unbearable, she yawned constantly and almost fell asleep twice. Tikki knew she had to hurry before Marinette fell asleep in the middle of nowhere.

"How long were you up?" Alya asked when she saw her friend stumble up the stairs.

"I dunno…" Mariette replied, her head bobbing up and down as she tried to stay awake. There were bags under her eyes, it was only her good luck that Chloe hadn't showed up to humiliate her, but it was only a matter of time.

Alya grabbed her arm and dragged her sleepyhead of a friend into the school; the brown red head took their stuff out from their respective lockers and pulled her friend into their first class. Tikki had been smart enough to wake Marinette a bit early so she could get some sleep at school.

The journalist made sure her best friend was comfortable in her seat, she took of her top shirt to make a pillow for the designer, and all she had on was her sleeveless undershirt that she always wore. She didn't mind as long as Marinette got some sleep.

"Merci Alya." The girl said before she tucked her head inside her arms and makeshift pillow.

"No problem Marinette, anything for…" when Alya turned around, she found her friend fast asleep. "Sleep well Marinette." She took out a comb and began to gently finish brushing Marinette's hair, it was a mess.

* * *

"Good morning Plagg!" Adrien said happily when he woke. He jumped out of bed and stretched a little.

The kwami opened one eye to watch the boy waltz around his room as he got ready for the day. "Someone seems to be in a good mood." He commented with a grin.

"Oh Plagg, I'm feeling great." Adrien replied as he stole a look at the window, he let out a sigh before walking to the washroom to take a quick shower and brush his teeth.

While the boy was busy, Plagg let out a sigh. He could see how distracted Ladybug had been; he didn't want the boy hurt. The kwami wasn't dumb, but it was funny to him how humans were blinded by their stupid love. He wanted to go find Tikki to ask her what happened to Ladybug after she told her what happened. He needed to know, but he couldn't just leave, Tikki could be anywhere! Well, perhaps not. He had been connecting dots ever since the incident with the Evillustrator; everyday at school, Plagg could hear how insecure and shy Marinette was, but she was a totally new person when he and Adrien met up with her. She was determined to help Chat Noir defeat Nathanael; she didn't run away, she wasn't afraid, she stood against her classmate without any hesitation. Her eyes shone in determination the same way Ladybug's eye did. Of course he wasn't sure if Marinette _was_ Ladybug, but he knew he had to confirm his hy-paw-thesis. He snickered at his own pun, but then remembered what he was thinking and frowned.

"Hey, you okay Plagg?" Adrien asked when he got out of the shower, he was only wearing pants and he was drying his hair. The kwami was slouching and he seemed deep in thought.

"No… I need my cheese…" he groaned weakly, he lolled his head to a side to emphasis his point.

The boy laughed and put a shirt on. "Give me a moment then, I'll be right back." He said and left the room. The cheese in his room had run out last night, so Adrien had to stash some up later on.

"Pffew… at least I'm good at lying." He mumbled as he rubbed his empty tummy.

On his way to school, Adrien was humming to himself and he kept staring at the window. His driver had given him a funny look because it was so rare to see the boy smile. When his car stopped, Adrien thanked his driver energetically and climbed out.

"Lover boy is happy~" Nino teased when he saw him, he was just glad to see his friend like that.

"Something great happened yesterday." The model said as he let out a long sigh.

Nino raised his eyebrows. "What happened bro?" he asked, wanting to know what made his friend so happy.

"Hey, where are Marinette and Alya?" the blonde said trying to evade the question. He couldn't tell Nino that he had a date with Ladybug; it was sound weird and impossible. _Perfect excuse._

"Huh? Oh them, Marinette came a bit earlier than usual, but she looked like she were to fall asleep any minute. She's probably sleeping right now in our first class. Alya was helping her." Nino said as he remembered seeing their girl friends stumble inside.

"Did she not sleep well?" Adrien said to himself. "Let's go check on her." He said.

* * *

" _Marinette, wake up. The teacher's gonna kill you if you don't."_

Marinette opened her eyes slowly, she felt a hand rub her back, it didn't feel like Alya's hand and that caught the designer's attention. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before looking at whoever woke her up. Quite was her surprise was when she saw two bright green eyes looking at her tenderly.

" _Sleep well Marinette?"_ Adrien whispered. If Marinette would've been less drowsy, she would have yelped and jumped in surprised. But she was too tired to even move. _"Um… The teacher moved me here because Alya kept on trying to wake you. You're lucky the teacher thought you were writing notes."_ He whispered.

The girl was swaying from side to side, trying to stay awake. "Marinette?" Adrien said. Her head finally lolled to a side and she fell onto Adrien's side, she was slowly sliding onto his lap. He blushed. _What do I do know?_ He asked himself. Eventually, he let Marinette sleep on his lap while he wrote down notes for both him and his sleeping friend. But it was a bit hard to concentrate with her right there, sleeping.

When the class ended, he saw Alya and Nino look at him and give him thumbs up before leaving. The rest of the class was gone and it was only him and Marinette. "Marinette, wake up. We have to go to our next class." He said soothingly, he pet her hair and noticed how silky it was. _I wonder if Ladybug's hair feels like this._

Marinette started to stir and opened her eyes; she was looking upwards and saw Adrien looking down at her. Her eye widened and she blushed furiously. "Oh my gosh! I-I'm so sorry! A-Adrien! I... uh..." she stammered.

"Hehe. It's okay Marinette. You looked so tired and you fell asleep, I didn't want to wake you up." Adrien said with a smile. The dark haired girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Come on, let's get going." They both stood up and walked to their class.

The designer was still groggy and she seemed to be a bit dizzy, so she just let Adrien help her from time to time, even if it meant for him to put his arm around her shoulders so she wouldn't fall. He didn't mind at all, but he always kept his smile on.

Everyone stopped their conversations when they saw them; luckily, Chloe wasn't there that day to bother them, she was sick. The teacher had taken a washroom break, so the class moved their attention to their late classmates. Marinette looked at her feet and she and Adrien separated and sat at their respective places, they both blushed. `

"What happened when I left?" Alya began to question when her friend sat down.

"Can I explain to you later Alya? I have a headache from my sudden waking." Marinette mumbled as she let out another of her yawns.

"Sure, sorry." The journalist apologized.

"Bro, you are such the gentleman!" Nino laughed as he slugged his friend's arm.

"I was just helping her." Adrien said as he looked away to hide his blush.

"Aww, that's so sweet~" Alya chirped in. "Really, you don't know how much this means to her." She added as she nodded towards her once again sleeping classmate.

Adrien glanced at her and managed a smile. "Really?" he asked. Alya nodded and sat back down when the teacher came in for their Biology class.

Marinette woke again and leaned on her hand as she tried to pay attention. Her fingers were holding the pen and her wrist made the swift lines of letters, but when she looked down, all she saw was a very detailed drawing of Adrien and her. She dropped her head on the desk loudly and let out a groan of annoyance.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, if you do not wish to receive my class, the door is right there." Their teacher growled as she pointed her marker at the door.

"Sorry, I just have a—" she tried to explain but she was cut off by her teacher.

"You know what, I changed my mind. Go to the Principal's office for the rest of the day. I think that'll teach you to appreciate class a bit more." The teacher snapped.

"S-sor-ry," Marinette mumbled as she picked her stuff up as quickly as possible.

"That's not fair." Adrien and Nathanael said in unison. "Marinette was just tired; she didn't sleep very well last night." Adrien told their teacher firmly.

"Yeah, she's innocent!" Nathanael said, trying to help his crush out.

"Well, she shouldn't be up late at night." The teacher hissed.

The class all looked at Adrien, waiting for him to answer. "It's not her fault she couldn't sleep." He said as clam and cold like his father talked sometimes. It frightened him inside that he could act like his father. "And it's not her fault that her brain is telling her to do something that is healthy for her. You more than anyone would know how the brain would work, no? You're the Biology teacher, you should know how cells work and how sleep contributes a lot to our body."

Marinette had stopped in the middle of the classroom, everyone's attention shifted from her, to Adrien and to their teacher.

"That's enough Adrien Agreste; you can also go with Marinette to the Principal's office."

"I feel bad, you didn't have to do that. It's my fault you're here." Marinette said when they both sat down to wait for the principal.

"Shh, just take advantage of the time we've got here, get some sleep." Adrien said before she said anything else.

"But—"

"Marinette please. It'll make me feel better." The model said as he looked at her straight in the eye. "Please, I don't want you having any other headaches later on." He pleaded.

Marinette sighed, she nodded. "Okay, if you say so…" she said. Curling herself up in the chair, the girl eventually found a comfortable position and dozed off.

"Adrien?" the principal said when he sat down, he looked at Marinette and the boy began to explain.

"Look, I didn't do anything wrong and neither did she. She's just tired; you can see it with your own eyes sir. Please don't call her parents or my father. We didn't do anything wrong." Adrien said as he tried to explain what happened.

"You've been a very good boy ever since you came here Adrien, and Marinette is one of the best students we've ever had. I won't call your respective parents, you may leave." The principal said with a smile.

"And Marinette?" Adrien asked curiously as he moved some hair away from her closed eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll let her sleep a bit in the infirmary." He said with a soft chuckle. The boy nodded and left with his hands in his pockets, he didn't go to his class though. He walked to the library and waited until the next period.

"I didn't know you were going to defend your _Princess_ like that Adrien." Plagg whispered inside his shirt. "You're lucky he didn't call your father. You would've been dead."

"Sush Plagg, it wasn't fair, I fight for justice, remember?" the boy tried to excuse himself and buried his face into a random book to cover his blush, which he didn't acknowledge.

The kwami just laughed but said nothing.

At the end of class, Marinette felt much better, her smile was more vivid and her words didn't slur. "You know... Adrien was so sweet to help you!" Alya commented as they walked out of school.

"Yeah, thanks for doing that." The girl replied with a cheeky smile and a blush.

"Anything for my little girl. Hey, he's coming towards us." The journalist said with a grin. Marinette's eyes widen and turned around to see the blonde in front of them.

"Hey, at what time is your competition tomorrow Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"O-Oh, it's at four." She replied while fidgeting with her fingers again.

"Great, looking forward to it. See you later girls." And with that, the model left leaving Marinette to only sigh.

* * *

"I can't believe that happened Tikki; that was really embarrassing!" Ladybug said to her kwami, knowing that she could hear her.

' _Hey, but Adrien didn't say anything bad, and he helped you out. I think that our good luck was in our favour today'_ The kwami replied.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The red superhero said with a smile. "Plus, there haven't been any new akumas, we are lucky." She added.

"Yes, we can enjoy the evening to ourselves. Hawkmoth is actually giving us some vacations." Chat Noir said as he appeared upside down from nowhere.

Ladybug acted out of instinct and punched him in the face. She saw his tail stretch out and he slid to the floor clutching his nose. "Ow~" he mumbled.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry Chat! You scared me, I'm so so sorry!" Ladybug said. She grabbed his face with one of her hands and checked his nose with the other.

"It's okay my Lady, I should have not scared you. I a- _paw_ -logize." He said with a grin.

"I would smack you but I hurt your nose already."

"But I'm _feline_ good, I'm okay." He joked. Ladybug raised an eyebrow.

"I think I'll fur-give you." She said, this time she laugh at the pun she used.

"Aw, my Lady is learned from me." Chat Noir purred. "Am I going to hear more cat puns from my Lady?" he asked.

"Paw-sitive." Ladybug replied and they both burst into laughter.

"You're purr-fect my Lady." Chat said as he kissed her hand gently, she didn't pull back and poke him in the nose like she usually did, she just laughed.

 _Perhaps the small date won't be that bad._ Ladybug thought as she and Chat started their nightly patrol. After sometime they got bored and Chat suggested that they'd have a race to see who reached the top of the Eiffel tower.

"Your on kitty." Ladybug said with a snicker. "On the count of three... _Une._ "

" _Deux..._ "

" _Trois_!"

They both sprinted up, Chat was jumping here and there, his cat skills favouring him. Ladybug used her yo-yo to reach the top.

With one final leap, Chat reached the top. He smiled when he didn't see his Lady, but jumped and hissed in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

" _Calme chat_..." she said with a smile. "Just me."

Adrien relaxed and smiled. "So... who won?"

"It was a tie kitty cat." Ladybug replied with a laugh. "We have similar abilities, we cannot win each other." She pointed out.

"True." Chat said. "Well, that was fun." He said "but I have to go, my father comes back from dinner in an hour. Bon nuit Ladybug!" he said with a wink.

" _Bonne nuit!_ " Ladybug called after him and watched as he disappeared into the night.

' _Let's get going Marinette, I'm going to lose power in a few minutes.'_ Tikki informed her.

"Alright, let's go." Ladybug said with a smile as she started to head home.

' _Are you ready for tomorrow's competition?'_ Tikki asked to distract her human. They were swinging from building to building, getting closer to home by the minute.

"Yes, I think. I don't know." Marinette said. "I'm just nervous. What if the judged don't like it? What if the sweets are too sweet?"

' _Come on, I've tasted all of them. You're delicate with every detail, you'll be fine. In fact, you'll do purr-fect.'_

"You too Tikki?" Marinette asked as she jumped into her window and released her transformation.

"Yes, now get some sleep Marinette. I don't want you to fall asleep on Adrien's laps again." The Kwami teased.

"Not now Tikki." The Miraculous holder said as she hid in her washroom to get ready for the night.

The kwami rolled her eyes, if only she had a camera to remember that moment.

* * *

"Did you see how she was with me today? She even used cat puns!" Adrien said as he leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. "My lady is more than perfect~" he said as he walked into the washroom.

Plagg rolled his eyes and saw Adrien's computer come to life. It was a notification of the Ladyblog, it seemed that Alya had found them and captured the moment with her camera. Plagg moved the mouse and clicked on it, he wrote the password he saw the model use every time and there were indeed a few quotes from their conversation.

"At least the girl didn't see Ladybug hit Adrien in the nose!" he started to roll in the air, laughing. He couldn't help it.

"What's so funny?" he heard Adrien ask with a mouth full of toothpaste foam.

"You can come and see for yourself lover boy!" Plagg said before he burst into laughter again. "Hey! Where's my cheese?" he asked when he saw that the plate was empty.

"Use that nose of yours and find it lazy cat, I'm a bit busy here." Adrien said with a grin. He flossed his teeth and let out a yawn.

"Ohh, marble cheddar cheese. My other favourite." The kwami purred before munching on it hungrily.

Adrien waltzed out of the washroom and flopped into bed, smiling.

"Make sure to not stay awake too late, or maybe tomorrow you're the one sleeping on Marinette's laps." Plagg snickered before turning off the light.

"Shut up Plagg." Adrien said as he hid is face in a pillow, he knew Plagg could see in the dark and would probably see his blush.

"Haha! You like Marinette. Admit it, last night you said she was cute in your sleep." Plagg said as he remembered hearing every single work the boy said about his classmate.

Adrien's heart fluttered and skipped a beat. He didn't know when it all had started; perhaps it was seeing a different part of her he didn't always see when she was with him. He couldn't help but smile when he called her Princess at the Evillustrator's attack, she didn't flee, she didn't run; she helped him defeat the Akuma without any hesitation. He actually admired her.

"Remember, tomorrow is her competition. Tikki is the one who liked sweets, but I'd like to try one of Marinette's." Plagg commented.

"Who's Tikki?" the blonde asked as he closed his eyes. "Oh, it's Ladybug's kwami." He said simply.

"Oh." Adrien said. "Tikki, I like that name." He said. "Anyways, I'm looking forward to Marinette's competition. If she could win the one my dad held up, I'm sure she'll win this one too. I'm paw-sitive."


	3. Sore Loser

"I'll see you later on then." Alya said as she hugged Marinette.

"Yeah, I'll probably be there already anyways." Marinette replied with a wave of her hand, Alya left to her own house.

Nathanael walked towards her, his shoulders slacked; "Hey M-Marinette," he said. "I wish you luck today, y-you know, at y-your competition."

The Dupain-Cheng smiled. "Thanks Nathanael! Will I see you there?" she asked. The boy nodded and managed a smile.

"You bet." Then he left.

Marinette smiled and turned to leave herself, but a hand stopped her gently by the shoulder.

"Do you want a ride home?" That was Adrien, Nino was by his side.

Earlier that day, Miss Bustier had made groups of three to write a small book for their Literature class. Marinette ended up with Adrien and Nino. They'd meet up on Friday at the Agreste Mansion to start the work while all of them brainstormed ideas; the job was due on Monday.

"S-Sure, t-thanks." Marinette stuttered before following the two boys into the limo. Once they all sat down, they began to talk. Marinette felt a bit more comfortable with Nino there, so she didn't stutter as much, she actually felt comfortable; she were even laughing at the jokes the boys made.

"The Dupain Bakery." Adrien's driver said with his monotone voice as he stopped the car gently.

"Thanks for the ride A-Adrien, and Adrien's driver." The girl said with a shy wave to the man, he just nodded. Adrien chuckled and shrugged as it were nothing. Nino was just grinning.

"Bye Marinette!" the blonde and his friend said in unison.

"We'll see you at the competition." Adrien added with a wink before Marinette closed the door. Nino lowered the window and they both smiled at her.

Marinette smiled back and waved awkwardly as the car left to the Agreste residence. She let out a sigh as she heard the familiar jingle of the door when she opened it; she greeted her parents and left to her room.

She sat at her computer and took out her sketchbook to examine the designs she had doodled earlier on her models.

"What are you doing Marinette?" Tikki asked the curiosity evident in her voice.

"I had a few designs in my head earlier while talking to Nino and Adrien at lunch." Marinette replied, "I just want to finish them." She took out her pencil and her wrist made those graceful traces she always did when working.

In just a few minutes she finished Adrien's and began to finish Nino's. She stuck her tongue out as she concentrated; her brows were furrowed, her eyes shining with determination.

"Hey! I haven't seen this one for a long time!" the kwami said as she pulled out a piece of paper that was hidden underneath some pictures of Adrien. It was an old sketch Marinette had for about a year, it was a short puffy dress that would probably reach her knees.

"I really like design but I don't know what colour scheme it should have…" the young fashion designer mumbled as she rested her chin on her table. She eyed the paper and let out a groan. "This one has given me more headaches than Chloe would."

"And if you try looking around?" Tikki suggested with a shrug. Marinette pouted but did as told, her eyes roamed her room, pink, white, green and blue… none of them made her eyes widen in excitement.

"There's nothing Tikki," she said while looking at her kwami. "All that I see now is you a─" she stopped as she took a good look at her magical creature. She grabbed the right crayons and began to franticly colour her dress as fast as lightning.

"Tikki, you are a genius." Marinette praised as she held her notebook to take a better look at it. The dress was mostly red but with a few black spots and black laces decorating the top and the bottom of the dress. Ladybug style.

"I just helped you out Mari." The red kwami replied. "You know, you could make a whole fashion line inspired by Chat and you." She suggested.

Marinette shrugged. "I don't know, I've been thinking about that for some time, but I'd do it just for fun."

"Doesn't matter, hey, let's get going. The competition." Marinette sprang up from her seat and hurried as she got ready.

"Marinette, five minutes and we leave." Tom called from the stairs.

"Okay Dad, give me a sec." She tied her hair in a bun and nodded to herself. "Now where is my apron?"

* * *

"Remember, you're a Dupain-Cheng, you are the greatest baker and fashion designer I know. Now go there and show them who you are!" Tom said as he kissed Marinette's forehead.

"Thanks Papa, I'll do my best!" Marinette replied with a slight blush.

"Good luck dear!" Sabine added as she pushed her daughter gently towards her stand.

It was the annual baking competition that was held every year for young bakers, the winner would be given a good amount of money and their sweets would be featured at the Gabriel Agreste's fashion show. Marinette had won only once, she was ten back then, oh, she was more than happy when she won, Gabriel had even congratulated her himself and personally took her to his show. That was the first time she saw his son, Adrien Agreste. She had seen him a few times in magazines and on billboards but she only thought he was cute, boy was her surprise when she saw the young model enter her classroom in the middle of the semester a few years later. Her heart skipped a beat that day, and since then, she learned to truly love the boy for who he was.

Alya and Nathanael were the first ones to arrive; the redhead had brought her a small gift, a small drawing of her, coloured and even wrapped in tape so it wouldn't get dirty or anything.

"Sorry if it looks messy, it was sort of made at the last minute, b-but I hope you like it M-Marinette." He had said, his cheeks heating up by the second. Even after the events of him being possessed by an Akuma, he didn't quiet stop liking—loving Marinette, it's not like he remembered anything, right? _Right…?_

"Not, it's okay!" Marinette had replied she opened her bag and carefully slid the picture in; she almost showed Tikki in the process but managed to hide her red Kwami. Alya gave her a wink and left to her seat.

The rest of her friends arrived, but her heart began to sink when she didn't see Adrien in the crowd. I _s he not going to come?_ She thought. She frowned a little; it was so hard for her to invite the young model to her competition and he wasn't here yet... She shook her head to clear her thoughts, _Adrien's going to come, he wouldn't ditch a friend._

The judges were starting to sit at their respective seats, but there was one missing. Almost every year, Gabriel wouldn't be able to make it; he wouldn't be able to attend to the small event that was a small necessity at his fashion shows. It was usually Nathalie that took his place as judge; no one ever said a thing about it. Gabriel Agreste was a busy man, wasn't he?

A car pulled up outside of the building and, both Adrien and Nathalie ran out of it. Gabriel's assistant seemed worried about getting late, she never got late, and she never... _**never**_ brought her boss' son late to an event. Adrien was the one who looked more preoccupied; his face was filled of regret and shame. How could have he forgotten Marinette's competition? He got so caught up with Ladybug while fencing that he completely forgot; it was Plagg who had reminded him about the event when he took his break. Adrien had called Nathalie and he could see her stiffen up at the other end of the call. He actually had to leave early from fencing class to go home and take a shower to rub off all the sweat he had collected.

"Sorry we're late, we had a little complication." Nathalie told the other judges, they just laughed, but some were actually surprised. Gabriel just didn't have any time to attend, but he was **never** late to anything, and neither was his son, (until now at least).

"Nathalie, may I be the judge this year?" Adrien asked just before his "babysitter" sat on her chair. The woman looked at the rest of the judges and they nodded.

"May we ask why you're interested in being judge this year Monsieur Agreste?" a woman with purple dyed hair asked Adrien as he sat down beside her.

The boy gave a nervous chuckle. "Well..." his cheeks heated up, though he didn't notice it. "My friend is here, last time I tried what she baked, it melted in my mouth." He said. "B-But I won't give her any extra points anyways, plus, I have very good taste." He added.

The judged rolled their eyes, but nodded. They all stood to commence the event.

"You're blushing~" Plagg whispered from inside Adrien's jacket. The blonde boy eyed him suspiciously.

" _I'm not..."_ he whispered as he smiled at the crowd when his name was called out. He looked at the contestants, most of them were girls, but there were a good amount of boys too. He waved a bit and caught Marinette's eyes, she was looking at him with her eyes as wide as saucers, her mouth agape and her eyebrows held up so high that they disappeared under her hair, her cheeks were bright red. She wasn't expecting Adrien to be a judge; she thought it was going to be Nathalie!

 _Ping!_ She checked her phone and sure enough, there was a message from Alya. "They say that a way to conquer man is through their stomach ;)" Marinette's heart stopped for a mid second, she let the breath she was holding in and sent a blushing emoji to her friend.

 _She actually looks cute when blushing._ Adrien thought with a chuckle as he watched Marinette gave him a shy smile, he winked at her.

"I knew you thought that. I wonder why you can make Marinette blush easily but not Ladybug." Plagg snickered as he poked Adrien's chest slightly.

His eyes widened at the realization that he had spoken out loud. _"Shut up Plagg!"_ Adrien hissed while giving his kwami a short glare. The black creature didn't say anything, he just kept grinning. Oh that boy was so oblivious. The kwami wasn't dumb, he could hear Adrien mutter why Marinette acted so different around him in the shower, he had heard him chuckling at the jokes Marinette did with Alya and Nino, even if he heard them from afar. Plagg knew Adrien wanted to get to know the girl better, but Adrien didn't know that.

"Welcome once again to the annual baking contest, we are airing live from Paris ladies and gentleman; we have many bakers today as you can see. All of them seem to be excited to begin. If you are new to this event, I'll give you a quick description." Said the Show's host excitedly, yes, this event was so big that it was featured in the local TV. "Every year, Gabriel Agreste has a grand surprise for us, and he just gives one clue to these young bakers so they can create the most delicious sweets in the whole city, the winner has a free ticket to the fashion show and their sweets are open to famous models and designers of the entire world!"

Adrien could remember his first fashion show like it was yesterday, going down the catwalk with clothes his mother had designed back then, it was a cute outfit, modeling for kids his age to look formal and elegant yet cute at weddings and such. The cookies and cupcakes were always so bitter to him, he never liked them. Too hard, too sweet, not enough sugar, burnt, raw... it wasn't until he complained to his mother that they started to hold up a baking competition to get the best sweets, it was when they moved to Paris that life changed, life seemed a bit more sweeter for the Agreste family, that is, before Gabriel's wife passing... everything seemed to become grey and white. Geez, even the house changed colour, instead of being of nice warm homey colours, Gabriel had changed them to various tones of grey. That house was too big for just two people, three people once Nathalie was contracted.

The first time Marinette won, his memory had been blurry, for his mother had passed away that same year, but the way she baked at such young age, with passion and love. When he bit into the cat shaped cookie (animal themed fashion show), his heart warmed up immediately, it was like all the sorrow was gone, like he was at his home when it used to be warmer, the smell of cinnamon and vanilla were comforting to him, and not long ago did he smell that on Marinette and on Ladybug. Yes, her baking was the best he ever tried, and when he ate what she brought for lunch, his heart fluttered and he felt like he could eat many more just to feel free, to feel loved again. _J'amie le biscuit_ , he had said to the young girl that was close by, her dark blue hair tied up in two lovely pigtails, her bangs covering one heaven coloured blue eye, she seemed very kind and sweet, loving and caring. The memory had moved from his brain to his heart, Marinette would always be in his heart for being the person she is, for bringing him a small amount of happiness. She hadn't blushed when he said that back then, all she said was _Merci,_ and added a little bow with a warm smile.

"This year Gabriel Agreste's fashion show will be inspired by our local heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"Good thing we practiced with clothes inspired by them." Tikki whispered from inside Marinette's jacket, the kwami had hid in there to give her some advice and to get to smell he goodies better.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle. She let out a sigh as she looked around at her contestants, she a few of them were familiar to her, and others were simply new. Ladybug and Chat Noir, well, she could do that.

 _Vanilla and chocolate, mint and strawberries._ She could see the final result and grinned, she knew Ladybug and Chat Noir like the back of her hand. Her good luck was in her favour today.

First was round was cupcakes, they had to be inspired by Ladybug.

Marinette watched as the rest of the contestants looked at each other, wondering who would go and get their ingredients first. She let out a soft chuckle and jogged towards the strawberries and grabbed a few of them, as if on cue, the rest followed suit and grabbed their own ingredients.

Adrien watched all of them, curious. Mostly because he knew nothing about cooking/baking, but the way Marinette moved around her workspace with grace was actually astonishing for Adrien, she was always a stuttering and clumsy mess each time he saw her; but she looked so concentrated and relaxed, contrary to what the model always saw. That spark in her eyes was so familiar, the shade of blue too. For crying out loud, Marinette wasn't even the Marinette Adrien knew on a daily basis, she was in her own world, the world where she was at control; he sometimes glanced at Marinette when she was sketching at lunch, she did graceful movements and her words didn't slur as she spoke to Alya or Nino. His heart fluttered when Marinette caught his gaze, he smiled sheepishly at her and the girl quickly broke eye contact to continue decorating the cupcake she was making. He could swear she mumbled something into her jacket, just like he would do with Plagg sometimes. His gaze fell over the other girls around his age in the competition, they were all messy with flour from head to toe; there was even some frosting on their faces. He stifled a laugh when he saw them, in comparison to Marinette; the girls seemed a bit stressed by the given amount of time. His best guess was that Marinette has had less time than the one given; she lived in a bakery for goodness' sake!

This time, he looked at the boys that had come, there was this chubby one that seemed clam too, relaxed. His companions were a bit calmer than the girls, but still messy. Squinting slightly, he saw the boy's name; François...the name seemed familiar to him.

"It seems that Marinette and François are the lead here." The host said while walking towards Marinette. "Tell me Marinette, do you know who François is?"

Adrien saw Marinette roll her eyes, again, _familiar_. "Yes, I do;" she mumbled while she kept her eyes on her cupcakes. "His parent's bakery is one of the best of Paris." She said with a shrug, as it were nothing. Suddenly a smirk covered her face and she giggled. Familiar... "But that doesn't mean that I can't beat him."

The host just laughed. "She seems confident, I like that!" she said as she wished the Dupain-Cheng luck and walked towards François.

Gabriel had once bought bread from that bakery; Nathalie had to go to the other side of the city to get it. French bread, it was actually good, Adrien didn't deny it, but the French bread from Tom Dupain was heaven to his mouth, he, like Marinette, baked with love and passion, and that's what their bread tasted like. Love.

"Times up kiddos! Hands off your cupcakes! Let me see'em!" everyone left their cupcakes be, their hands lifted above their head as if they were to be arrested. Marinette was actually confident that year, if not her smirk wouldn't still be there.

There were four judges, one woman and the rest men, or boy in Adrien's case. Two by two, the contestants walked up to the front with their respective cupcakes. Marinette and François were the last on to pass; François' cupcakes had small hearts decorating them, one of them had 'Ladybug' written in the middle and surrounded by hearts.

Adrien felt his heart tighten and his brows furrow, he didn't noticing it, but he was clutching the sheets of the table. _"Psst! Adrien, don't get jealous, you get to spend time with Ladybug all the time!"_ Plagg whispered. The boy blushed at the realization and immediately relaxed.

He didn't pay attention to what François was saying; he just heard raspberries and white chocolate. _Ladybug isn't like raspberries, she's more like... strawberries. Sweet._ Adrien thought. Plus, she smells like vanilla. He bit into the small cupcake piece he had cut, it tasted great, but there was something missing... he couldn't quite place it.

"What do you say about it Monsieur Agreste?" the judge on his left asked.

Adrien tilted his head to a side as he looked at François, he saw the older boy stiffen slight, so the blonde straightened back up and smiled warmly at him. "The cupcake was delicious, but let me tell you one thing; I would associate Ladybug with vanilla and strawberries. Sweet and light." He said with a slight grin. "Seventeen out of twenty five. Good job."

The next judge also said something about the raspberries being a bit sour, and the white chocolate didn't really represent the young heroine. "Fifteen."

"Those are eighty nine points for this young baker! Marinette, please, tell us about your cupcake."

The girl straightened up and smiled as she came to the front and placed the cupcakes in front of the four judges. "It's a really light cupcake, its soft texture tastes like vanilla and there are some strawberries in there. The frosting is strawberry and it represent's Ladybug's yoyo." She said proudly as she leaned on the balls of her feet. "Oh, and the spots are dark chocolate, it's strong like her." She added with a blush as she glanced at Adrien.

When it was his turn to speak, he looked at her dead in the eye, his own green eyes shining. "I guess you and I had the same idea." He said with a chuckle, he noticed that Marinette giggled, he noticed that her cheeks lit up like a stoplight, he loved it. "It melts in my mouth, I love it. And the dark chocolate, great touch. I'll give you a twenty four." He said with a nod.

"Thank you, Adrien." She said with a slight bow. " _Merci._ "

"I totally agree with Adrien here Ms. Dupain-Cheng, but ... tell me, since when have you been baking?" the last judge asked, she looked at the young girl curiously.

"Well, I started to help my dad with the dough when I was eight, I baked a few cookies when I was nine, my parents didn't know though, they were scared that I'd get burnt, but years of watching my parents work around the kitchen made me understand the seriousness of the task..."

"Do you love to bake, Marinette?"

"It's more of a hobby..." the blue eyed girl said as she rubbed her neck, she felt a bit nervous. She held her hands behind her back and continued. "But I put a lot of love into everything I bake and make." She said, referring to the sweets and her clothes.

"That's what every baking needs, Marinette, love! Love always makes things sweeter." She said.

"Twenty three."

"And there we have it; Marinette Dupain-Cheng has a total of ninety three points. She's at the top my friends, François right behind her! I think this will be a heated competition folks! Round one has finished! We'll be returning after these commercials!"

People clapped as Marinette and François walked back to the kitchen together, they were smiling, faking as if it were just a friendly competition, but once they were alone, the grins and fake compliments were given.

"Good luck trying to win this year, François." Marinette said with her hands on her hips. "You don't want to _ **burn**_ yourself out, do you?"

François rolled his eyes. "Oh, you'll see Dupain, you'll see. What'll come out burnt is your pride. _Au revoir fille_!"

" _Salut!_ " Marinette replied as she left her competitor in the kitchen to go with her friends. She sneaked in a piece of cupcake to her kwami before being attacked by Alya's hugs.

" _Oh la la_ Marinette! François is good looking, no?" Alya teased. "What did you tell him in the kitchen? Tell me?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Alya, he's my only rival in these things, we're sorta like friends but we're not." She said. "I said that I'd win, because I'm the best! Haha!" she said, laughing.

Alya giggled. "I made some extra cupcakes if you want some!" her friend added as she gave one to the journalist. Alya sank her teeth into the small goodie and she groaned.

"Marinette, this is so good~" the redhead exclaimed. "No wonder Adrien gave you such high points, this is great!"

"Let me try!" Mylène said as she came towards her friends. Marinette gave her one and the girl almost melted on spot.

Nathanael came towards them and his crush gave him one too. He closed his eyes quickly as he chewed the soft bread. His heart fluttered as his tongue tasted the cupcake. "My god Marinette, this is great!" he said, smiling brightly.

"You have to win Marinette! If the rest is as good as these, you have to win!" her friends said in unison, their fists in the air.

The young designer giggled, but she turned around when her name was called. She saw Adrien coming towards her and she held her hand close to her chest.

"Hey, can I speak to you for a minute?" the boy asked as he looked down at her.

"I... uh, s-sure." She stuttered, her cheeks heating up immediately. Adrien smiled and grabbed her wrist gently to drag her to some quieter place. _Oh my god... he grabbed my hand, I mean my wrist... yeah, *sigh*_

"You're doing a great job out there. But, hey, I brought you this." He took out a small box from his jacket and handed it to Marinette. He saw her look at the box hesitantly before she took it in her hands. "Go ahead, open it." He said while leaning on the wall.

The box clicked and Marinette's eyes widened. It was a small bracelet with a small ladybug attached to it. She looked at Adrien, confused.

He himself was confused; he didn't understand why he had bought it for her. Perhaps it was because he saw a different side of her as Chat Noir, perhaps it was the determination and braveness he saw when she was with the Evillustrator, perhaps it was because she started to have effect on him, perhaps it was her attempts to come and say 'Hi' to him or give him one of her warm smiles every day. He didn't know what it was, but he felt like he just had to do it. He gave her a ladybug because sometimes, she reminded him of his Lady...

"T-thank you A-Adrien, but I can't accept it, it's too much." She said, eying the jewels that it was made of.

The boy laughed softly, smiling warmly. "Please, I insist Marinette." He said, grinning slightly. Perhaps it was just because he wanted to be friends with her; perhaps it was because he unconsciously was attracted to her in some way...

"Here, let me put it on." He said, grabbing her hand gently and holding it in between his fingers. He took the bracelet and put it around her small wrist, the ladybug charm hanging underneath.

Marinette would have been screaming at the top of her lungs if she could, at least she could scream internally. But her face was priceless, her eyes wide, cheeks blushing furiously and eyebrows crocked in a confused expression. "Th-thanks..." she breathed.

Adrien caressed her knuckled with his thumb and let go, nodding. "No problem Marinette, the show will start up again in a few minutes, I better go. Good luck again!" he said, waving before disappearing in the crowd.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Marinette asked out loud, she let out a sigh and looked at the bracelet. She giggled, she herself was a lucky charm, Tikki was a lucky charm and now another ladybug as another lucky charm. _Funny._

"Cupcakes and cookies inspired by Chat Noir!"

Adrien watched as Marinette and François darted over to the ingredients before any of the other kids, he saw that both his friend and her 'rival' had gotten the same ingredients. "It seems like Marinette know what flavours go with each superhero." He commented to the one of the judges. She nodded.

"...and François seems to be copying her." She noted with a frown. "Let's see who is best, shall we?"

"Marinette has ninety eight points, round 2."

"François ninety."

"All of you have lost this round, you're out. Good luck next time."

"Three levelled Ladybug and Chat Noir cakes, now!"

There were four contestants left, Marinette, François, Marie and Gustav. They had come out with very high points, each with their own different style and baking; unique.

Marinette had her sketchbook open, she started to do a quick sketch on the pages, the first floor Ladybug, the second Chat and the third would be a mix of them. Adrien even saw his almost friend look down at the bracelet he had given her to get some inspiration. Then, she started working fast.

Everything seemed to blur for Adrien, the glances towards his friends in the crowd and in the kitchen, the conversations with the other judges, the complaints from Plagg, Nathalie's scolding when he began to doze off... the bell rang in his ears and his eyes snapped open.

The four cakes were stunning, all of them had the black spots of a ladybug, but only one had an exact copy of Theo's statue in the park, and that was François'...

"Pass to the front, all of you."

"Marie and Marinette." Both of the girls began to walk towards the table, but Marinette glanced back at François, he was scowling and frowning at the girl, the Dupain-Cheng gave him a glare before turning back towards the judges. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes slightly to calm her nerves down.

Marie started to ramble about her cake, explained a bit too much about every level. `She used strawberries for Ladybug and dark chocolate for Chat Noir, the last level was vanilla and chocolate. She got eighty five points for it.

She spoke calmly, proudly and confident. She didn't stutter and she kept a cool face at all times. She made small gestures with her hands as she explained; her words were strong and passionate. "I hope you like it." Were her final words before the judges sank their teeth in their respective pieces of cake.

Marinette almost jumped in joy when she saw the reactions of the judges. Her heart warmed up more than it was already and she couldn't help but clutch both of her hands in front of her. Yes, she wanted to win. The last time she won, was many years ago and the memory is a blur. When Gabriel took her to that fashion show, it only increased her desire to become a designer; and now that she learned so much more, she wanted to go and feed that ambition. A tiny part of her wanted to win because she could see Adrien model, but that wasn't why she liked him, she could see the emptiness he had in his as he model, the smile was forced to look natural... she hoped Adrien could model her own designs to see if she could fill that emptiness he had, she wanted to win to modeling could be a bit more pleasurable to the young Agreste.

"Ninety nine points for this young baker!" the host exclaimed as she looked at the camera and back to Marinette. The girl was had her hands close to her face, smiling gladly. She bowed to the judges, mumbling thank you many times before retreating.

"François and Gustav."

Both of the boys came to the front, slowly because it seemed that their cakes were pretty big. Marinette could see François' hands trembling, if he wasn't careful his cake could─

François lost his balance for a moment and his cake dipped to a side. He closed his eyes, waiting for the spat of cake on the ground, but it never came. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Marinette on the other side, holding his cake upright.

"You should be more careful." She said with a smile. François looked relived for a second but then turned his face to a side. He wrinkled his nose.

"I am careful, your frosting made me slip." He growled. Marinette flinched; she didn't expect him to take this rivalry so seriously. She said nothing as she saw him walk towards the table once she again. "You're stupid cream could've ruine─"

He wasn't looking when he was walking and he bumped into the table, dropping the cake on Adrien and the judge beside him.

Gasps could be heard throughout the whole room and François opened his eyes wide.

Marinette covered her mouth with her hands and ran towards Adrien. "You okay?" she asked him as she tried to clean his face from frosting. She also tried to help the other judge but she dismissed the Dupain-Cheng.

"François, we were going to give you full points for such a creative cake, perhaps a ninety eight or something for the taste. But now! You foolishness has caused this, you are disqualified François!"

"We were also going to discount you points for being extremely rude." Another judge said. Adrien stayed quiet, he didn't say a word, knowing it wasn't his place to speak. He thanked Marinette for the cloth she was using to clean his face and saw François storm off stage.

Gustav hadn't said a word either, his cake still in hands. "Come here boy, let's try that cake of yours." He obeyed and the judged tried it, Adrien and the other judge not complaining about being dirty.

"This could be the end for Marinette or it could be her chance of winning." The host said, trying to calm himself down. "Marinette has a total of ninety nine points, if Gustav gets the more than that, he wins…"

Adrien crossed his fingers underneath the table, he also crossed his legs. He say the rest of Marinette's friends to the same, he smiled hopefully.

"Ninety eight."

"Marinette is this year's winner!"

Screams and claps from Marinette's family and friends filled the whole room, they all came running towards her, giving her a group hug. Adrien came to, he was one of the first ones to hug her, though she didn't mind him covering her all up in frosting, it actually covered up her blush and she was glad for it.

"Congratulations girl!" Alya said happily. Marinette giggled, she looked towards the ceiling and closed her eyes. She was going to Gabriel Agreste's Fashion Show!

Before any of them could congratulate Marinette more, there was an explosion and a cloud of dust covered the whole place.

" ** _I deserved to win! I am the best baker in all of Paris! You don't deserve that prize Marinette!_ " **a voice roared furiously. From the dust, a huge humanoid figure came out, his was very tall and his body was honey coloured. He looked like a huge bread man, though he looked more terrifying than it sounds. His fingers were sharp and when he swung them, sharp end baguettes were aimed straight at Marinette.

* * *

 **Akuma attack! Yeah, this Akuma is actually pretty deadly… and his ninja cookie stars are pretty hard and sharp too…**

 **Next chapter next week! Between Tuesday and Friday!**


	4. Today's the Day Part 1

**I'm really sorry for such late update. I was so hard to write this chapter, but I don't know why. But I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Marinette and her friends quickly ran away from the baguettes, it was instinct now. Their school was a magnet for Akumas, and most of them were caused by Chloe.

Everyone knew that even if the Akuma was targeting Marinette, they would be in danger too if they didn't move fast enough.

Marinette dodged the frosting balls François was spitting out. She gasped when she saw that the people caught in the frosting became stone. "We have to find a place to transform Marinette!" Tikki squeaked from inside the girl's purse.

"I know, I know. But he's after me!" she ran into the halls to try and lose the Akuma, she tried to silence her steps but she was too much in a hurry. She went around this corner and that, but soon she found a bathroom and closed the door. She panted a little, wishing to be as agile and light Ladybug was.

"Come back here you coward!" she heard François growl as his heavy steps echoed throughout the whole place. "Monsieur Baker it the best and I'll show it to you Marinette!" he roared, his large feet making the ground shake slightly with each step he took.

Tikki flew out of her Miraculous Holder's purse and waved her hands in front of her. "Marinette! Now!" she shouted. The girl blinked twice, and then nodded.

"Tikki, _transforme moi!_ "

Adrien, thanks to his cat like reflexes, had quickly dashed away from the crowd and hid in a small closet. He called out and Plagg transformed him into his superhero form.

"Hey, over here cake man!" Chat Noir shouted, his voice coming from above. Monsieur Baker craned his neck to try and find the superhero. The cat boy was dangling from one of the set lights, a grin plastered on his face.

The Akuma roared and threw ninja star cookies at the blonde boy. Adrien's eyes widened and he quickly jumped around to dodge them. He leaped down and rolled as he landed on the wooden floor. He took out his baton and extended it to make a staff. He twirled it around for a quick warm up and charged at the monster.

Monsieur Baker spit out some of his frosting, but Chat was already creating a shield by spinning his staff at an incredible speed. He looked around, hoping to find something that could trap the akumatized boy in. He found some pillars that didn't hold up the structure, so he sprinted away and prepared himself to use his Cataclysm.

When he was about to yell out the special word, he saw Ladybug land in front of him, her yoyo creating another layer to his shield. "Sorry I'm late." She said, rubbing her neck with her free hand. "I had to help Marinette…"

"I hope she's okay." Chat said, concern filled his voice. "But I'm glad to see you my Lady~" he said, bowing ever so slightly before both of them had to run away from François' attacks.

"It's good to see you too, kitty." Ladybug said, she let out a small giggle and threw her yoyo at the Akuma's feet. "Capture him!" she yelled before pulling her yoyo with enough strength to make Monsieur Baker fall to his knees.

"Sure can do my Lady!" he winked at her playfully. "Catacysm!" Chat yowled out; he had already seen which pillars were perfect to capture the akumatized boy. He jumped towards the second floor and ran, his right hand touching metal for it to fall.

The pillars crashed into one another, creating a dome like cage, probably a temporal one too.

"Quick! Find where the Akuma is! I don't think that'll keep him for long." Chat said, walking to his partner's side. Ladybug nodded and looked at the villain from head to toe when she saw the dark purple hat. "Aha!" she threw her yoyo at it, wanting to grab it.

"Escape and capture them, bring their Miraculous now!" Hawkmoth growled when he saw what was about to happen.

"Oh no you don't!" Monsieur Baker growled, he spit twice at the ground and a shield sprout out from the wood. Ladybug's yoyo bounced off of it and landed on the ground.

"Great, how do we break that now?" Chat asked, poking the shield with his staff.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug exclaimed while throwing her yoyo to their air. _Please give me something to burn this…_ The object fell onto her hands it was, "Air Wick?" she asked, the confusion clear in her voice.

"I don't smell bad, do I?" Chat asked, sniffing himself to prove his point. Ladybug giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Of course not kitty. _Though you always smell like Camembert…_ " she mumbled. She looked around her surroundings, trying to find something that was going to help her. The cooking igniter lit up in the ladybug design, she looked around again, when she noticed there was nothing more she looked at her palm and it also lit up. She ran to get the igniter and stood in front of the shield.

"Kids shouldn't play with fire." Chat Noir said, an eyebrow lifted. "Be careful my Lady."

"Don't worry Chat, I bake with my parents since I was eight…" she said before spraying the air freshener in the air, she turned the igniter on and held both items together. It created a huge flame that quickly burnt the shield down to reveal Monsieur Baker. He had a creepy grin on his face and shot sharp baguettes at the heroes.

"Distract him Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled at her feline partner. He nodded and let out a sharp **Meow!** when Monsieur Baker grabbed him by his tail. Even he knew that his tail wasn't real, but he felt a dull pain that he couldn't explain. "I think I'm distracting him enough Ladybug!" He yelled as he tried to get his baton.

"Seems like you're the mouse this time, cat." Monsieur Baker laughed as he held Chat Noir in front of his face. The boy crossed her arms across his chest, frowning.

"Ha, Ha. Very funny." He muttered. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Ladybug behind the Akuma. "Hey! Isn't this the part where you try to steal my Miraculous?" he asked the villain curiously.

 _"I thought you had understood my point."_ Hawkmoth grumbled, letting out a groan. **_Why doesn't any of my Akumas get it on time?!_** _"Hurry and grab his ring! NOW!"_ he spat.

Monsieur Baker reached for Chat's right hand to take his ring off when he felt his hat been pulled away forcefully. "Hey! Gimme that!" he whined, he dropped Chat to the ground and reached out for his hat.

"Sorry, but I need to borrow it for a little while." Ladybug said with a grin. She gripped the hat in her hands and ripped it apart. The small black butterfly came flying out. "Come here vile Akuma!" she opened her yoyo and threw it towards the critter. "Gotcha!" she opened it again and bid it farewell as she saw it fly away. She threw her yoyo to their air and yelled;

"Miraculous Ladybug!" the small red ladybugs flew all around the set, returning everything to normal. The dark magic vanished from François, left him confused. "What happened?"

"That was close." Chat grumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Mission accomplished?" Ladybug asked him, joining his side and raising her hand for their fist bump. The blonde boy chuckled and nodded.

"Mission accomplished." He bumped his fist with her. His ring beeped twice and he grinned at her. "Well, I gotta go." He said. He waved at her before disappearing somewhere in the building.

"See you later on Chat!" Ladybug said before leaving herself to find a place to hide and released her transformation. The familiar rush of air filled the room where Marinette had hidden and extended her hands to catch the Kwami in case she was too tired to move.

"So, ready to claim victory?" Tikki asked. "The trophy is still waiting Marinette." The girl nodded and quickly left the room where she was in.

"Let's finish this mess."

. . .

That night, she didn't sleep right away. Her mind drifted off as she imagined what would happen at the Fashion Show. She just imagined the whole fashion line; perhaps she could show Mister Agreste her own designs too? But then, her eyes widened. "The date is tomorrow!" she exclaimed. She climbed out of bed and decided to get a breath of fresh air.

She was nervous, scared perhaps. But that was normal in dates, right? She frowned when she realized that the only date she had been with an akumatized Nathanael and that didn't end up well.

Tikki woke up a few seconds later, she noticed that Marinette wasn't in bed, so she flew out the window and landed on the girl's shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.

Marinette let out a small groan. "Please tell me I don't have a date with Chat Noir tomorrow…" she grumbled somewhat sleepily.

"Ok, you don't have a date with Chat Noir."

"How could I be so… so… distracted when he asked me?!"

"Because of Adrien?"

"Exactly! I hate boys… they are the worst…"

"You hate Adrien?"

"No! I-It's just complicated!"

"You'll do fine Marinette, just be yourself. Show him that you are the sweet Marinette I see every day." Tikki tried to encourage. Marinette glanced at her Kwami before dropping her head on her arms.

"Thanks Tikki, I've known Chat for some time, I must admit he is quite the gentleman." The girl let out a slight giggle.

Tikki rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly at her. "Come; let's get you to bed before you end up sleeping up here."

"Fine."

. . .

Marinette woke with a jolt; she noticed that her heart was thumping at full speed, but there was a smile on her face. She let out a giggle and jumped out of bed to get ready for the day.

Tikki yawned and opened an eye as she watched the girl dash around her room excitedly. "So you remembered?" she inquired with a smile.

"Of course! I can't believe I forgot!" she squealed. She stopped at her desk to grab her elastic bands to tie her hair. "Nino texted me yesterday, he told me that we were going to write about Ladybug and Chat Noir." She added.

"Oh! That'll be fun." Tikki said, nodding to herself. "You know exactly how to make them act." She giggled. Marinette nodded and smiled. She grabbed her jacket and grabbed her purse.

"Of course, but that was the only thing he told me. I wonder what he has planned though." She mumbled. "Come on, let's get going." She opened her purse slightly to let her Kwami fly into.

"Morning Marinette~" her parents greeted when they saw her walk down the stairs, they were preparing the bakery for the day.

"Morning Papa, morning Mama," Marinette said happily as she snatched up some cookies from the counter. "I'll probably be back at six or seven today. I have a group work at A-Adrien's house." Geez, even the mention of his name made her blush.

"Okay, but then we'll eat dinner together. Okay?" Tom said, walking over to her daughter to give her a hug. Marinette giggled and nodded. She gave her father a peck on the cheek.

"And take something to eat." Sabine added as she gave Marinette a brown paper bag filled with probably her breakfast.

"Thanks Mama." She kissed her cheek and waved. "See you later, luck with the bakery!"

"Bye sweetheart!"

She loved the walk to school, she could always see the Parisians walk around, enjoying their own personal lives. Lives that she protected. She smiled at the thought.

When winter came, it was like walking in a winter wonderland. Though her nose always got cold. She giggled.

When she started to climb the stairs, she saw Alya and Nino arguing. Over what? She didn't care, all she knew was that for most people it seemed like a kind of flirting, and she was one of them.

"What is it now?" she asked with a slight grin. The DJ and the blogger turned to look at her, their expressions softening a little when they saw her.

"Nino says that adding a mix to my Ladyblog will make it less boring!" Alya exclaimed, her hands on her hips.

"I never said that! I said that it would make it even better than it was."

"It's my Ladyblog, not yours!"

"Okay, that's enough." Marinette said with a sigh. "Nino was just helping Alya, and I need to tell you something." She pulled her friend away from Nino and dragged her fuming of a friend to the lockers.

Alya looked at her friend curiously. "What is it Mari?" she asked.

"I can't believe I'm going to Adrien's house today!" Marinette exclaimed, trying to distract her friend from her anger towards Nino.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" Alya grabbed her friend's shoulder. "You better not mess up girl. This is your chance!"

Oh, right. Messing up. That was one thing Marinette could do when it came to Adrien. "I hope that doesn't happen, but I have a feeling that everything will turn out well." she said with a smile.

"Well, if you say so. What are you going to write about?"

"Nino said he wanted a story with Ladybug and Chat Noir." Marinette said with a smile. "That's all I know."

Alya giggled. "Well, you can figure that out soon. There they come." She turned her friend around and pointed to the boys coming in.

"Good morning Adrien!" Alya greeted the model. Adrien smiled and waved a little, he turned to Marinette and greeted her too.

"H-Hi A-Adrien." The blue eyes girl replied, a pink blush tinting her cheeks.

Adrien chuckled, he found the constant stuttering of his friend adorable in some way; his opened his bag slightly and dug around his stuff, trying to find something. "Well, since a monster interrupted us yesterday, I thought I could give this to you." He stuck his hand out, a small slip of paper held in between his fingers. He had thought of giving it to her before she left, but she was gone when he had the opportunity to do it.

Marinette hesitated t to grab it at first but eventually did, her eyes widening when she read what it said. She moved her fingers slightly and found another slip of paper underneath, her heart stopped when she read it. "Th-Thanks A-Adrien! I'm s-so e-excited! I-I've always wanted to g-go!" she exclaimed. "Your dad's fashion lines are really good and I um… he only fed my passion for fashion you know! Uh… and he so famous and he's your dad… I've always wondered if he got better or worse, I-I mean, he is the best fashion designer I've known, w-well, I haven't _known_ him really but─" she stopped when she heard Adrien laughing, she blushed and smiled like a fool when she heard his 'angelic' laugh.

"I'm sorry, haha. I just, heh." Adrien's laugh softened to a chuckle and he looked at his friend. "I'll see you in class Marinette." He wasn't sure if telling her that her rambling was actually amusing and cute, was that going to be weird or something? He touched her shoulder slightly and left with Nino by his side.

Both Alya and Marinette watched them go, Marinette with dreamy eyes and Alya with anger still lingering in her eyes. "Come on, let's get to class!" the secret super hero squealed with delight, dragging her friend along.

"Calm down there love struck girl."

. . .

The bell rang and the students were dismissed for the day. Marinette couldn't help but walk around with a little skip to each step, her heart fluttered at the thought of what would happen at Adrien's house. Would she see his father, Gabriel? She frowned at the thought, she heard from Nino that Gabriel wasn't really… a dad sort of.

Nino had actually dragged her away from Alya before she could escape or something, not that she wanted to though. The DJ hadn't told her anything about his ideas of the story; he said it was a surprise. They both were going to wait for Adrien's fencing class to finish, they would watch him actually.

"Bye Marinette, good luck!" Alya said with a wink before disappearing in the crowd of students. Marinette waved her friend a farewell and looked at Nino when he poked her shoulder.

"You know… Adrien has spoken a bit of you Mari." The boy commented while lowering his headphones.

"R-Really? What has he said?!" she asked excitedly. Nino laughed.

"I'm not telling you anything yet Mari. It's a secret."

"Nino!"

"Haha!"

Marinette could've kept on trying to get Nino to tell her if a certain model hadn't come towards him in his fencing uniform. She blushed and smiled slightly. "Hey, have you guys eaten yet? My class doesn't start until 3:45, we can catch a bite to eat if you want." He offered.

"Sure dude, I'm starving. Come on Mari, let's go." Nino tried to encourage his friend, all the class knew about her crush on Adrien except the boy himself.

Marinette looked at Nino then at Adrien, she nodded slightly and stood up along with the DJ. "M-My p-parent's b-bakery is close by, my mom c-can make us something, you don't have to b-buy us anything A-Adrien." She said while rubbing her arm nervously.

"Well, now that I think about it… I haven't been to your parent's bakery really."

"You haven't dude? Geez, they are like the best bakers ever!" Nino praised. "And since you tried Marinette's baking, you'll melt on spot when you try anything that comes out of that kitchen!"

Adrien chuckled. "Let's go then."

The small bell on the door rang when Marinette opened the door for her friends, there weren't many people today. Tom and Sabine poked their heads out of the kitchen when they heard the doorbell.

"Sweetie!" Sabine exclaimed when she saw her daughter along with two boys. "Oh Nino, good to see you. You must be Adrien, right?" she asked the blonde.

The boy nodded and smiled. "Yes, Ma'am. Nice to meet you." He greeted with a nod of his head. "Sir," he shook Tom's hand and bowed his head slightly.

"You can call us Tom and Sabine, son." Tom said with a laugh. "Marinette has told us a lot about you young man."

Adrien seemed surprised; he glanced at Marinette and found her looking at her feet, blushing. "Really?" he asked, smiling to himself. He looked at Nino and he found him amused at all of this.

"Um, Tom, Sabine; do you guys have anything we can buy for a small lunch or something?" Nino asked while looking around.

"Even better, we were about to eat ourselves too you know. How about I make you three some energizing sandwiches, hm? It'll be light on your stomach Adrien, so you don't have a tummy ache while fencing. You guys can wait in the living room. It'll be ready in a few minutes."

Sabine mentioned for them to follow her up the stairs and they followed. Tom stayed behind to watch over the bakery.

"You've got a nice place here, Mari." Adrien commented when they reached the top of the stairs.

"T-Thanks." She mumbled, the nickname on his tongue making her heart skip a beat.

"So… y-you like fencing?" Marinette asked as she, Adrien and Nino sat on the couch. Nino sat in between his best bud and the girl so she could actually speak.

"Yeah, I find it… exciting. You know, it's something that keeps my mind off modeling, Chinese and piano." Adrien said; his fingers caressing his fencing mask slightly. "And it's fun." He added, he sent the girl a smile.

"Hey, dude." Nino said, trying to get his friend's attention. "You should order one of their cakes for the holidays. They are like, real good. But order then early, because they get tons of orders for the season. Right, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

Sabine giggled."Yes dear, but between the three of us we manage. Right Marinette?" she asked, turning her head a little, waiting for her daughter to reply. The girl just nodded and grinned. "Well kids, here are your sandwiches." She walked over to them and handed each one a Ziploc back with a baguette filled with who knows what, but it looked good. There were a few pieces of apple too.

Adrien and Nino gasped, "Wow! This looked great! Thanks Sabine!" they both said in unison.

"Anytime kids, remember you two are always welcome here. A friend of Marinette's is a friend of ours. Now go along, you have a few minutes left before your class starts, Adrien. Bye!"

"Bye Mrs Du─ Sabine!" Adrien said with a wave. Nino nodded at her and bid her farewell too.

"See you later Mom!" Marinette said before following the boys. "Bye Papa!" she waved at Tom before walking out the open door. Tom nodded and waved too.

Adrien had been holding the door, waiting until Marinette passed by his side. "T-Thanks." She stuttered.

"No problem Marinette." He said with a smile.

They started to eat while walking back to school. Adrien was careful not to dirty his uniform, it was white, any stain could be easily seen. And the sandwich had this delicious sauce he couldn't explain.

Nino was enjoying each and every bite he took; sometimes talking between mouthfuls to praise Marinette's parents. Adrien kept on trying to shush him, but he laughed too. Marinette kept on rolling her eyes, happy that they both were enjoying the simple sandwich her mother made.

"You have a great family Marinette." Adrien commented when he finished his sandwich. "Well, it's time for me to go. Hope you don't get bored you two." Then he left with his other classmates.

"I'm not sure if you've seen Adrien here when you spy him, but he's really good." Nino commented as they boys started their warm up.

Marinette blushed. "I-I don't spy on him!" she exclaimed, she crossed her hands on her chest. "Well, maybe a little. B-But still!"

Nino just laughed. "Yeah, right girl. Anyhow, Adrien's old man thought this was a good way for him to relax, since his father always gives him a schedule each morning." He said while looking at the fencing team. "He says it's fun, for now…"

"Well, as long as he enjoys it. Plus, he has you, no?"

"Yeah, but I don't know for how long Gabriel will allow it." Nino frowned. "I hope it isn't anytime soon."

When Adrien came back to his two friends, he was all sweaty but he had new clothes. "So, ready to go home?" he asked.

Nino and Marinette nodded excitedly, Adrien smiled and took his phone out to call his driver. He pressed the call icon just under the name 'Gorilla', his driver could be a toughie on the outside but he was such a sweet guy underneath. He chuckled as he waited for his driver to pick up. But the response was instant.

"Class is finished, we're at the entrance." He said into the mic of his phone.

"Be right there in five, young master." Then, the 'Gorilla' ended the call. He was nearby, getting himself a bit of coffee when Adrien had called. He started the engine and pressed the gas.

When he pulled up next to the school, he saw the girl, Marinette, trail behind Adrien like a shadow. Nino, the friendly boy that could bring out the best of his young master, was right beside Marinette, not wanting to make her feel left out.

He couldn't help but smile before getting out of the car and opening the door for the three children. He nodded at each one before closing the door and regaining the driver's seat. Taking a glance at the mirror, he saw them talking energetically, laughing… just like last time.

Adrien was quite surprised when the sound of music filled the limousine, he looked once at his driver and they both stared at each other. His driver nodded and then returned his gaze to the street in front of him.

He cared for the boy, he really did. But he said nothing about it, only expressing it through actions. He knew what it was like being his age, friendships were important for any child.

"So, Nino…" Marinette started while looking at the boy. "the story is about our heroes, okay, but what are they going to do?" she asked, her face full of confusion.

Nino started to grin like an idiot. "Heh, I'll tell you when we're in Adrien's room dudes." He chuckled and wiggled in his seat until he was comfortable.

"Nino! You've been making us wait since we were giving the assignment." Adrien whined, his lips forming an adorable pout, his eyes pleading for an answer. "Please?"

"Hehe, you may try to make a pleading kitten face dude, but it doesn't work on me." The DJ laughed while pushing his best bud's face away from his.

"But it'd work on me." Marinette whispered. _Oh my, that's adorable._ She thought, all the blood rushing to her face.

"Did you say something, Mari?" Adrien asked her, his ears picking up the quiet words that slipped out of her mouth.

"O-Oh! M-Me? Nah, didn't s-say a thing. Ehehe… HEY! We're here!" she changed the topic and pointed out the window. Sure enough, the mansion gate was in sight and Nathalie was waiting at the door.

They climbed out of the car, thanking the driver quickly and walked towards the stairs. Nino and Marinette followed Adrien and stopped when he did.

"Nino, Marinette." Nathalie greeted quickly with a nod of her head and a small smile. "Adrien, your father wants to speak with you, briefly." She added.

Adrien nodded; there was something in Nathalie's voice that told him that whatever his father was going to tell him wasn't at all bad. "Thanks Nathalie, I'll just take Nino and Marinette to my room." He said. "Come on guys." He mentioned them to follow him as he walked up the stairs to his room.

"So, make yourselves at home, I'll be back in a sec." Adrien said while opening the door for his friends. "Be right back."

Nino sat on the couch, sighing and looked for the remote control for the TV. "Hey, Mari. Come on, it's just Adrien's room. You won't break the whole thing but taking another step girl." The boy said, turning around to see Marinette standing at the door still; she hadn't even taking a step since her crush left.

"Ehehe, you're right. Sorry." Marinette apologized as she walked towards Nino and sat beside him. "So… you've been here?" she asked, frowning a bit at her question. She heard Nino sigh and when she glanced at him, he looked troubled.

"Adrien's old man isn't very convinced that I'm a good influence and him, he told me that on Adrien's bday and well, I come here when I can, usually when Gabriel isn't here." He said, clenching his fists tightly. "I just don't understand him! Adrien is a great dude! He does everything his father tells him but isn't given… anything. He's almost never around and well…he always alone."

"I could always see it in his face you know, like the time when we had to bring our parents to school. My heart broke; I saw how sad he was." Marinette said while looking down at her fingers. "I've always dreamed of being such a great fashion designer like Gabriel, but after the look Adrien had… I couldn't see him as a role model anymore." She mumbled.

"Hey guys! I got good news!" Adrien bursted into his door, a smile adorning his face. "You two alright?"

Both Nino and Marinette sat straight up and turned around to face their friend. "Us? W-We're fine!" they said in unison and a nervous chuckle.

"Ok… Anyways, my dad just told me that you two can model with me instead of just watching! What do you say?" Adrien sat on the floor, looking up at them, his eyes widen in excitement and happiness the small cute smile still on his face. His father was giving his friends an opportunity, that was unexpected for him.

"What?!" Nino exclaimed, shaking his hands in the air. "Dude, I-I've never modeled before, w-what if something happens? I fall!"

"Come on Nino, you'd be awesome, and it's fun!" Adrien flashed a Chat Noir grin and looked at Marinette. "What do you say? Wanna do it?"

"I-I don't know, I agree with Nino, what if I… m-mess up? I don't k-know if y-you've noticed it, but I'm a bit clumsy sometimes." She ran her hand over the couch, trying to evade Adrien's gaze. "I don't want to be a bother…"

Adrien scooted closer to them both. "I've been nervous too you know? There is always a first time, plus, I'll be modeling Chat Noir stuff, Nino, you could model the formal attires of Chat, and Marinette, you could model Ladybug stuff, you look like her anyways. So? What do you say?"

Nino glanced at Marinette and he saw her blushing. He chuckled inwardly and looked back at his friend. "I'll do it, but only if Marinette does too."

The girl looked at him surprised, she had to say yes or Nino wouldn't be with her bestie. She had no choice. But she smiled. "I'm in."

"Great!"

"B-But, only if you give us a few classes." She crossed her arms across her chest proudly. But her heart was beating so fast that she felt like it was going to fly out of her chest any minute now.

Adrien seemed surprised by the sudden request, but he laughed. "You can count on it."

Nino rubbed his hands together. "Okay, now that you've told us about the great news. I'll tell you about the story plot" He seemed proud of the idea, he knew that Adrien would go crazy about it. He even commissioned Nathanael to draw the cover.

Adrien and Marinette both smiled excitedly. "What is it?"

"Since we all love our heroes, I decided we could honour then with stories, deep stories. _Sorta_. So, I made a poll with our school's students and made the final decision. I call it," he eyed them both before moving his hands dramatically. "Ladynoir."


	5. Today's the Day Part 2

**I warn you, I've never been on a date so I don't know if this was date was awkward or anything, I suck at dates and I'm sorry, it might be just crap anyways. Ugh, I feel so embarrassed for not making a date right, I'm so sorry. :( *welp* I hope you enjoy either way.**

* * *

Marinette and Adrien froze, a blush creeping up on their cheeks. _Ladynoir…? Did I hear right?_ They took a glance at each other and looked back at Nino.

"Ladynoir?" Mari asked, a slight smile covering her lips. _If Chat heard about this, he'll talk nonstop about it._ She thought. She tried to suppress a giggle that was about to escape from her lips, it seemed funny for her, she was Ladybug and now she was going to help someone write a story about her having a romantic relationship with her partner.

"That sounds perfect!" Adrien exclaimed, almost jumping from his spot to hug his best friend. "I love the idea! When do we start?!" he was overjoyed by the idea. He wouldn't tell anyone, but he would make many scenes in his head with Ladybug just for fun.

Marinette looked at Adrien, quite surprised by the fact that he eagerly agreed. "Do you… like Ladybug?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest. She was taken by surprise again when she saw Adrien stiffen slightly and… was that a blush she was seeing?

 _I don't like Ladybug, I love her._ "W-Well… I-I am a fan." He stammered, rubbing his neck nervously.

"Yeah, a huge fan." Nino added with a smirk.

"Shut up Nino." Adrien said, elbowing him gently.

Marinette couldn't help but blush; after all, she was Ladybug. "Well… I'm guessing by the name this will be all romantic, no Nino?"

"Yep, that was the top option everyone voted for."

"So… they'll go on dates, and… who knows… even a kiss then?" she asked, she glanced at Adrien and she saw him all flushed and still. She smiled, and now that she thought about it, she could actually make Adrien blush but writing some words here and there, she didn't mind see Adrien blushing, she didn't mind at all…

Nino rubbed his hands together. "Great, now that we've all agreed dudes, let's get started. Marinette, you'll write all of Ladybug's parts and Adrien you'll so Chat Noir's."

"W-What will you do, Nino?" Adrien asked. "It seems like we'll be doing all the job."

"I… I'll tell you what to write, I've noticed that you two both know a lot about these two, so I thought you'd know how to write them, that's all." Nino said with a smile. "It's like you're besties with our superheroes or you dudes could be Ladybug and Chat Noir. Heh, seems like a crazy idea though. Haha!" he laughed.

"O-Of c-course!" Adrien and Marinette said together.

"We totally aren't Chat Noir and Ladybug, heh." Adrien laughed nervously. "That'd be a really hard secret to keep, don't you think?"

"Of course, I was just kidding." Nino said, chuckling. "So, this story takes place in Paris, there's an Akuma attack whose powers come from the blizzard of the winter…"

…

"Wow, we have 5 chapters already. This is great!" Nino exclaimed when the team had just finished the chapter. "We're almost done now!" he pumped his fist in the air happily.

"Yeah, and that was… fun." Marinette said before grabbing the pages and re-reading Chapter 5: The Date. _What a coincidence._ She thought, _I actually do have a date with Chat to night, but at the Eiffel Tower. Hmm… I wonder if I should buy him something._

Chapter 4… Where Chat Noir passed out by a knock in the head by an akumatized villan and Ladybug figured out his secret identity by accident, where the chapter ended with Chat asking Ladybug out because he actually felt something for Ladybug's civilian self. Ladybug excitedly said yes, Adrien's idea.

Chapter 5, where Ladybug and Chat Noir met as their civilian selves (Marie and André), and hung out together at school and later went to one of the fanciest restaurants in all of Paris, due to Marie being rich and stuff. They were just about to kiss when an Akuma attacked, much to Adrien's dismay. Marinette did it on purpose though, even if it were just a story, she wasn't sure if she was ready for Chat to kiss _her…_ yet.

"I'm going to the washroom." Adrien said, he stood up and mumbled something before closing the door behind him.

Plagg zipped out of the boy's jacket and groaned loudly. "Ugh… My head hurts with so much cheesy romantic stuff." He rubbed his ears and closed his eyes. He was happy that Adrien was enjoying it so much, but he was exaggerating a bit too much.

The blonde shrugged and smiled. "Stay here while I take Marinette and Nino downstairs to get something quick to eat, okay?" he asked, eyebrows raised in amusement.

The Kwami sat up and snickered. "Okay, but bring me some cheese."

Adrien chuckled. "Don't worry Plagg. I'll get it." He said as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"You know… you still owe me that stash of camembert…" the Kwami said floating up to his Miraculous holder's face, a grin plastered on his face.

"After the date Plagg, we do the shopping tomorrow anyways." The boy replied, "now sit here."

The small cat like creature watched as Adrien closed the door and listened as he told his friends to follow him downstairs. His eye narrowed and he waited until the kids left the room, once they did, his opened the door silently and zipped out.

. . .

"I think we have some light snacks down in the kitchen." Adrien had said when he exited the washroom.

"Awesome dude! I bet you have frozen pizza in there!" Nino said before running out the room and going towards the kitchen.

Adrien chuckled and mentioned Marinette to follow him. "I'll follow you in a second Adrien, I just have to… to tie my shoes." She said with a smile.

The young model smiled and nodded. "Sure, I'll be waiting at the bottom of the stairs to show you where the kitchen is." He said before leaving.

Marinette turned around and crouched. "You can come out for a moment Tikki, I'll be right back." She said as she opened her purse.

The Kwami flew out and nodded, sighing at a bit of fresh air. "Okay, enjoy the time with Adrien." She giggled.

The girl blushed slight but nodded before kissing Tikki's forehead affectionately. "Heh, thanks. I'll leave my purse here in case someone gets in, okay?"

The Kwami nodded and waved as she watched Marinette leave. Out of curiosity, she looked around and decided to explore a bit more, she could be more mature than Plagg, but new places got the best of her and she would wander off.

"Wow… these are a lot of bo─!"

"Tikki!" Plagg flew towards Tikki and hugged her. "I knew it! I knew it!" he exclaimed as he nuzzled her.

The ladybug Kwami froze, not sure what happened. "Plagg?! What are you doing here?! What do you mean you know? Why aren't you with your Miraculous holder?!"

Plagg let her go and smirked. "Aren't you happy to see me, Tikki?" he asked, he wiggled his whiskers.

Tikki's eyes widened. "O-Of course I am! B-But…" she sighed and hugged Plagg again. "Sorry, you took me by surprise, that's all.

The black Kwami let out a purr and smiled. "Long time no see, eh?" he asked.

Tikki nodded. "It's a bit hard when Chat Noir and Ladybug don't tell each other's identities. How did you find me?"

"Oh, you know how ambitions I am Tikki, I always want to talk with you, but since you respect our holder's privacy, I have to find other ways to find you." Plagg laughed.

Tikki shoved him playfully and giggled. "Yeah, I respect their privacy. But this one is just too much."

"Oh, so you know?" Plagg asked. "I thought you didn't by what you said earlier…"

"I know, but you know how I like privacy. After what happened centuries ago you know." Tikki said, looking downwards.

Plagg smiled sadly. "Hey, this is the twenty first century; I don't think we'll have the same problem." He said. "But guess what, today I'm going to have fun."

Tikki looked at him, confused. "What?"

"Tonight, you know, since these dorks have a date." Plagg chuckled, he spun in the air and grabbed a two small pieces of cheese before returning to Tikki. "It's actually pretty funny, it's like they are cheese, Adrien is Camembert and Marinette is Marble cheese," he spit the two cheeses in half and bit into each one of them.

"The non- bitten Marble cheese is Marinette, and she likes the bitten Camembert which is Adrien, but the non-bitten Camembert, which is Chat Noir, likes the bitten Marble cheese which is Ladybug. But they don't know who they are. They are really different, Camembert and Marble are very different, but they are the same too, they both are cheeses, no?"

Tikki started at him, "… what do you mean? You know I don't understand your cheese talk."

Plagg groaned before plopping both cheeses in his mouth. "This is a whole Love Square! And it's fun!"

Tikki giggled. "Okay… it's a bit funny, not fun. Funny." She said. "I just want them to reveal themselves to each other you know. It could be good for them."

Plagg nodded in agreement. "Marinette is Adrien's complement; they are ying and yang, just like we are." He said.

"It's rare for you to show this side of you Plagg. You really do care for the boy, don't you?"

"Nu uh! He can give me all the cheese I want, that's why I chose him." Plagg said with a grin.

Tikki rolled her eyes, _yeah, right_. She thought. "Hey, they are coming back. We should, you know, hide again." She said once she heard the student's footsteps.

Plagg turned to see her, his eyes shining with excitement. "Tikki, how about we go out for a while. I know we've seen Paris through their eyes, but… I wanna have some fun, spend time with you." He said. "Please?" he flattened his ears to his head and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Oh Plagg, we have to stay with them you know and we can only be away from the Miraculous for so long." Tikki said, she tried to avoid Plagg's glance but it was impossible. She sighed in defeat, "Okay, it better be worth it."

"Everything is worth it when you're with Plagg." The kwami winked at the other before pulling from her hand. "Let's go!"

"Plagg! Go a bit slower!"

. . .

. . .

. . .

"What do you mean you can't come?!" Alya asked through Marinette's phone speaker.

The girl laughed nervously. " I told you, I made plans with someone a few days ago. I'm sorry Alya, but I cannot say no to this guy."

"Wait… you said… guy? You have a DATE?!"

"W-what?! I-I didn't say that! I—I meant guys! I-I have other friends too you know."

"No way girl, you aren't lying to me. Who is it? What happened to Adrien?"

"I-It was by accident, I couldn't say no to him."

"Marinette, Marinette. Tell me his name, come on! Give me a scoop girl!"

"Alya, I can't. I don't want to. Look, I'll make it up to you, really. Just… I have to go Alya."

"Marinette, wait!"

She ended the call and sighed. "Oh Tikki, what am I going to do?" she asked as she buried her face in her hands. When she didn't hear her Kwami's voice she panicked. "Tikki?" she called out again.

Marinette had left the Agreste Mansion about an hour ago, she made sure she had her purse and she knew Tikki would be in there. But she wasn't. Her heartbeat sped up a little after calling her Kwami for the third time. She went outside and called out again. "Tikki!" _Oh where could she be…?_

Adrien is in a similar situation, he had brought the plate of cheese he had promised Plagg and he left it close to the window so the smell wouldn't get to his nose, quite was his surprise when the sly and cheese lover of a kwami didn't appear at second he placed the plate down. "Plagg? You little critter, where are you?"

He stuck his head out of the window and looked around, no Kwami around."Where is he now?" he looked at the clock in his room and gasped. "I haven't bought anything for Ladybug yet!" he exclaimed before running to get a coat. "I bet Plagg is just wondering about again, he always does it." He mumbled before running out of the mansion.

"Adrien! Where do think you're going?!" the boy froze in spot as he turned around to face his father standing at the top of the stairs.

"I… I have an errand to do, Father. It'll be quick, something for school." He said quietly, hoping his father would buy it.

Gabriel clenched his jaw. "Fine, but I expect you here within an hour, do you understand Adrien?"

The blonde nodded slowly. "Yes Father." Once he saw the dismissal in his father's eyes, he bowed his head and left before he changed his mind.

Marinette was really worried for Tikki; she sighed sadly and went back inside. "Where is she?" she asked out loud. "Did something happen to her?" she held her hands close to her chest.

"What are you talking about silly? I'm right here." Marinette gasped when she heard the familiar voice.

"Tikki! My God, you scared me! I-I thought something happened to you!" the girl exclaimed before grabbing the tiny creature in her hands and holding her close to her chest.

"Oh Marinette, I'm sorry. I… I just had a secret mission and… I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter, you're here now!" Marinette was on the verge of tears, the thought of something happening to her best friend while she was distracted made her heart break.

"Don't cry Marinette! Hey, let's go get something for Chat Noir, you know, for the date." Tikki said, smiling.

"Oh yeah! I'll feel bad if I don't, he's my friend after all." Marinette said. "Hmm... I'll wonder what I can get him."

"Maybe you can think about it when we're in the store."

"Right, let's go then!"

Tikki giggled and flew inside Marinette's jacket to hide. Oh, if only you knew Marinette…"

The clock ticked and ticked, they were both waiting for the clock to show them the right time, 7:30. It seemed both had the same idea of arriving early.

Adrien was quick to move and he called for Plagg to transform him, he was out the window before he was fully Chat Noir, he ran over the rooftops and dashed towards the Eiffel Tower to make sure things were ready.

Marinette wasn't far behind, but just before she said, "Tikki, _transforme mo_ i!" her mother called her for her help. She sighed. "Coming!"

Tikki stayed in Marinette's and waited, there was a full moon that night, and Tikki hoped that her and Plagg's plan worked.

Once Marinette came back, she transformed and made sure she had everything on her before leaving her home. She raced over the rooftops of Paris, using her yoyo time to time to get there faster.

 _It's just Chat Noir, he's your best friend, he protects you at all costs and he… he lov… he likes you a lot, he's just a human, he's a flit but he's very nice… he's your teammate and it's a friendly, date, right? Oh, what am I going to do…?_ Ladybug rambled in her head the whole way to the Eiffel Tower. She was a bit nervous at the fact that she was having a date with her partner, because she knew that he actually felt something for her, she didn't know how big this something was though, and she didn't want to break his heart.

Before she knew it, the Eifel Tower was just in front of her, she took a deep breath before throwing her yoyo all the way to the top. Her feet landed softly on the metal structure, she saw Chat Noir sitting not far away from her, his feet dangling over the platform, a basket beside him made Marinette smile.

"Hey kitty." She said and giggled when her feline partner jumped in surprise.

"M-My Lady!" the boy said happily, he stood up and walked towards her. "I'm glad you could make it." He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckled slightly.

Ladybug smiled slightly. "So… what's in the basket?" she asked. Chat Noir grabbed her hand and led her to where he was sitting before.

When they both sat down, Chat dug his hand in the basket and took out a single rose. It had no thorns and its red colour glowed in the night. "This is for you." He said softly as he careful slid it behind Ladybug's ear.

"Chat… thanks, it's beautiful." She said smiling; she also took the time to actually look at her partner since she got there. His hair was actually, brushed slightly different, it reminded her of someone else, did he also put some lotion? From the way his hair laid a bit heavily on his head, Marinette assumed he also took a shower.

"Huh?" Chat brought the basket in between them and opened it. Ladybug peeped in and was surprised to see a very fancy meal inside. "Oh Chat… You didn't have to. How… did you make this?"

Chat rubbed his neck nervously, "Actually, I don't know much about cooking, I got some help from the cooks back at home, but I cut the vegetables."

Ladybug giggled, her shoulders shaking slightly when she did. Chat blushed slightly when she saw her, a stupid grin formed on his face.

"I –I hope you like it, my Lady." He took out the two meals and gave one to Ladybug.

" _Merci._ "

" _De rein._ "

Ladybug took a bit of the meat, she smiled, and it tasted great! "This is really good Chat!" she said excitedly before grabbing another bite.

The boy smiled. "I'll tell my cooks then." He chuckled.

At first, they ate in silence, just watching over Paris like they normally would; but Ladybug was the one to talk first.

"So… how was your day at school?" she asked out of the blue.

"Hm? Well, you won't believe what happened _after_ school." The blonde said with one finger held in the air.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, my best friend made this… story about us. He called it, heh, it's actually funny you know, he called it _Ladynoir_." Chat said, chuckling softly. "He just told us the idea behind every chapter and my friend and I wrote our superhero egos on the paper. I was Chat Noir, obviously."

Ladybug froze _, Ladynoir? That… that was Nino made me and Adrien write about, and I wrote Ladybug's part in it… is it just a coincidence or… no! Don't think about nonsense, Marinette, everyone in Paris loves Ladybug and Chat Noir, many say they are lovers or something, people probably have the same idea, yeah._

"Oh, haha! That's funny, actually, something similar happened to me too you know, my friend had the same idea, we finished 5 chapters just earlier today."

"Wow! This is weird but my team finished chapter 5 as well." Chat said. He looked at Ladybug and when she caught his gaze, they burst out in laughter.

"Gosh, this is strange." Chat said after a while. He sighed, _"Nino's such a bother sometimes…"_ he mumbled to himself.

"Wait, what did you say?" Ladybug asked, the name Nino quickly getting her attention.

Chat looked at her quizzically. "Hm? I was just talking to myself." He said softly.

 _My, my… what a coincidence, you and Ladybug share the same moment, hmm, very strange…_ Plagg chuckled inside the boy's head. _You were writing Chat's part and Marinette Ladybug's._

 _"Marinette."_ Chat whispered, frowning slightly as he tried to figure out what Plagg was trying to tell him, normally he wouldn't talk to him while the transformation was active, the Kwami would only laugh at him or make fun of him in any way he could, but… what was he trying to do this time?

Naturally, Ladybug would've turned around when she heard her civilian name, and she did. "Do you know Marinette?" she asked, knowing very well that he did. She stifled a laugh when she saw her feline jump up in surprise.

"W-well, yeah, don't you remember you introduced her to me?" he asked, quickly recovering to his cocky state.

Ladybug blushed in embarrassment. How could she forget it? _Stupid…_ she thought. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin up in the air. "Of course I do, I just… I just wanted to test your memory Chat Noir." She said, her eyes closed.

"Pfft! Yeah right, I know you Ladybug. You forgot my Lady! Ehehe!" Chat laughed, his hands covered his stomach as he did so.

Ladybug blushed even more in embarrassment. "Shut up stupid cat!" she said playfully, nudging him on the side.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Hey, talking about something else, I brought this for you." He put his hands behind his back and that's when Ladybug noticed that he had brought a black bag with him. "Here I─"

"Hold on a second kitty, I also brought something for you." Ladybug interrupted as she brought out a similar bag that her partner had.

"Oh? You didn't have to my Lady."

"But Chat Noir, you're always so kind with me, I guess it's my turn to return the favour."

Chat blinked a few times, confused, but his lips curved into a smile. "Okay then, at the count of 3, we give each other our respective gifts, okay?"

Ladybug nodded, "Okay, one…"

"Two."

"Three."

Chat brought out a small red box with a black ribbon. Ladybug had a small sized box too, it was black and it had a green ribbon with black paw prints on it.

They handed it to each other and opened up their respective boxes.

"Oh Chat, you shouldn't have." When Ladybug opened up the box, the first thing she saw was the black cat, then she saw the small ladybug perched on its nose, as she took it out, she noticed it was a necklace, she turned it around and saw something written on it.

'For my Lady, my partner, my best friend, my everything. – Chat Noir'

She raised her head to him; his look was gentle, his cheeks glowing a soft red, his lips curved into a warm smile. So… where his feelings actually genuine? She always thought it was all pretend, just for the cameras. Her heart skipped a beat, she loved Adrien, but… he never noticed her; if he wasn't in this world, could she had given her partner a chance? Perhaps.

 _He's being so kind, sort of like Adrien, his soft tone of voice is the same one when Adrien speaks to you, you know? He's so adorable, and he's blushing and he's a little shy._ Tikki giggled inside the girl's head.

 _'What do you mean, Tikki?'_

 _What I'm trying to say, Marinette, that Chat is acting a bit like Adrien, it's cute how similar they can be sometimes._

Adrien and Chat Noir… she never thought much about it, but as she tried to turn the gears on her head, she recalled Adrien's peculiar sense of humor, how much he loved cats and their puns, his smirk that she rarely saw. Then Chat, he could be shy in some occasions or he would end up being so kind with her and when she needed his help, he would be there and offer everything he could.

Could it be that Chat Noir was Adrien? Did she want that? Could she actually learn to love his Chat side like she liked his Adrien side? The more she thought about it, the more the fact that she didn't actually mind Adrien being Chat scared her.

It was like when Alya showed her the picture of Adrien in Chat's costume; she got really scared and evaded the fact that he could be her partner. They did really look alike. Perhaps… just perhaps…

She looked at him and saw that he looked somewhat troubled too.

 _Oh, and did you noticed the determination Marinette had when she decided she was going to be class president? Or, or… hmm…. How calm she looked when Chloe copied her hat, oh, how she can be sassy? Isn't Ladybug like that too?_

 _'What are you trying to tell me Plagg?'_

 _What do you think dummy?_

 _'That Ladybug is Marinette?'_

 _Hmm, I don't know. I'm just rambling about nonsense right now; it's been too long without my cheese.'_

Ladybug, Marinette. He started at Ladybug for a moment, Marinette's face came to his mind and as he compared the two of them, he did actually notice some similarities. He always thought Marinette looked like Ladybug because of her ponytails, but as he thought more and more about it, he actually could pick out when Ladybug acted like Marinette and when Marinette acted like Ladybug too. And a few things Marinette did actually seemed familiar, like the roll of her eyes.

 _Could it be, that all this time, my Lady sat behind me every day?_ He thought glancing down at the black bracelet with a cat eye gem in the middle, he knew it wasn't real, not everyone was rich so he knew it was probably just a fake, he liked it either way though, as long as it was from Ladybug.

He smiled and chuckled softly to himself. Could it possibly be that his Princess was also his Lady? Did he mind that? He grinned when he noticed it was actually something good, now that he thought about it, Ladybug always smelled like fresh bread, Marinette did too.

They always ended up a little late to class just after an Akuma attack, they always ended up as a victim in the attacks too, he laughed when he knew it was no longer a coincidence.

When Ladybug wasn't there, Marinette was. Just like in the Evillustrator attack, Ladybug had gone on a secret mission while he protected Marinette he now knew that was no longer a coincidence. And he did tell her that she was going to be his Ladybug that day, and she did just that.

Ladybug gave him a funny look at his sudden attitude but he just told her that he was happy. He thanked her for the gift and she did the same.

Was this what Plagg was trying to tell him? That Marinette was Ladybug? He didn't mind at all, but he would make sure that it was true, but he had to wait until Monday.

 _Time for the cat to get out of the bag._ He thought.

* * *

 **Ugh, I'm so sorry. But, this date hasn't finished yet.**

 **Hope you had a merry Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEARS!**

 **You don't now how hard it was to write all of this...**

 **Last 2015 Update! xD**


	6. I know

_"Say something Adrien, I'm guessing you don't want this to end, right?"_ Plagg spoke from inside the boy's head.

 _"No, I don't want it to end."_

 _"Then say something, tell her how beautiful she looks under the moon, how her eyes shine brighter than any star, that her bracelet looks nice o–"_

 _"Wait! Bracelet?!"_ Chat perked up and looked down at Ladybug's wrist, sure enough, there was the exact same bracelet he gave Marinette that same day.

He unconsciously flicked his ears and the tip of his tail swished from side to side. "My Lady, I must say, you look marvellous today." He said, trying to get the attention of his partner.

Ladybug had been looking up at the night sky when Chat complimented her. She had been thinking, trying to connect the dots that Tikki had given her. It didn't make any sense for her, they were just too different.

"Thanks Chat, I would say the same thing about you, but… I guess you already know that." The girl said with a smirk.

Chat grinned and did a pose. "Hm, I guess you're right LB, did you know that underneath all of this leather like material, there's more hot stuff than meets the eye?"

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really?" She asked. "Heh, I bet you're not as good looking as Adrien Agreste."

Now it was Chat's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh? Fan of the famous model Adrien Agreste?" He smirked.

He saw Ladybug stiffen slightly and blush before she cleared her throat.

"Uh, yeah…" she mumbled, now regretting adding Adrien to the conversation. "He's a nice guy."

"Well, you could say that I'm just as handsome as Adrien." Chat said, bringing a knee up to his chest, he rest his head on it. "Perhaps a little more."

Ladybug laughed, music to Chat's ears, he just loved to hear her laugh, giggle or anything. He simply loved everything of her, all of her, even her Marinette side, even is she didn't believe him.

"And who's under your mask Bugaboo? You always smell like freshly baked goods." He commented.

"Just plain old me, nothing important." She signed and looked up at the moon again. "My parents are bakers, I guess that answers the question why I smell like pastries."

Chat frowned, _'nothing important…'_ why would she say that?

"Ladybug, I bet you are the sweetest girl there is in all of Paris. There is nothing plain about you." Now that he knew Ladybug was Marinette, he cared about her even more. Did Marinette think of herself like that? That's she's just the boring daughter of a baker?

Well, for him, she was not at all plain, she's class president, and a good one too; she's a designer and her sketches are pretty cool, she can bake goods, really tasty. She was the most wonderful girl he ever knew.

Ladybug sat straight and smiled at him. "Thanks Chat." She said. "Who are you under the mask, hm?"

"You could say that my face is all around Paris." Chat grinned.

"Oh?" Ladybug scratched him under his chin and the boy closed his eyes, a purr longing to escape from his throat. "On billboards and magazines?"

Chat hummed and Ladybug nodded slowly. Well, if Tikki was trying to say that Adrien was Chat, then he was correct, Adrien's face is all around Paris, in billboards and magazines.

"How funny, you have double fame, famous kid at day, superhero at night." Ladybug giggled.

Chat nodded. "Yeah, but the fans surround me at the most unexpected moment. It gets a bit annoying sometimes." He sighed.

"Really? No privacy, huh?"

Chat shook his head, his lips making a small pout. "Nope, I sometimes have to sign autographs, I don't like them though." He said. "I'm not a prize."

Ladybug blinked twice, surprised at what he had just said. _Do I look at Adrien like a prize?_ She asked herself. Shaking her head, she turned to look at Chat, was staring at her with a funny look. "What?" She asked.

Smiling, Chat gently grabbed the rose he had given her and put it behind her ear. (It didn't have thorns by the way.) "I just thought that something was missing." He said.

Ladybug giggled. "You silly kitty… thank you." She said.

Chat nodded and grabbed her wrist gently. "I like your bracelet." He said. "Who gave it to you?"

Ladybug said nothing at first, not sure if to tell him. "… a friend of mine." She said. "He said that it's for good luck."

"Heh, more luck for the ladybug." Chat grinned.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and smiled. "It seems you are the one in need of that most kitty."

Chat leaned in closer. "Well, I have you. Don't I?"

"Of course kitty," Ladybug pushed him away slowly with her finger and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, I must be going now. My parents might check on me any minute now."

Chat's ears flattened slightly on his head. "All ready my Lady?" He asked.

"Yes kitty, I don't my parents thinking I sneaked out or something." Ladybug said as she stood up. "But I had a great time."

Chat was the next one to stand up. "Okay then. Be careful my Lady." He kissed her knuckles gently and smiled at her. "I also enjoyed this".

Ladybug chuckled. " _A plus tard_." She said.

" _Bonne nuit_." Chat replied as he watched Ladybug swing away with her yoyo. He sighed and jumped away too.

…

…

As the bell rang for the students to come in that Monday, Adrien walked along side Nino; the bracelet that Ladybug had given him was still on his wrist.

After they gathered up their stuff for the day, the boys walked into their first classroom and started to talk casually about their weekend.

"I made this awesome mix dude, just for you man." Nino said as he handed Adrien a disk with his name written on it.

"Wow! A-Are you serious Nino?!" Adrien asked. "Thanks dude. Really."

"Chill Adrien, it's no biggie." Nino said with a pat on the blonde's shoulder.

Adrien smiled widely at his friend. "Hey, look what someone gave me on Friday." He lifted his wrist and showed him the bracelet proudly, very proudly.

"That's so cool! Who gave it to you?" Nino asked as he inspected it. "It that a Cat Eye gem?"

"Well, yeah, but its fake. And—"

" _Bonjour Adrien, bonjour Nino_." Alya and Marinette said in unison.

" _Salut filles_." The boys answered when a wave.

"Look at Adrien's cool new bracelet!" Nino said as she shoved Adrien's wrist towards the girls.

"That's so cool, a green Cat Eye. Is it real?" Alya asked.

Adrien shook his head. "No, it's fake." He looked at Marinette. "But I love it."

Marinette smiled nervously at Adrien, "W-Who gave it to you?" She asked.

Adrien chuckled and Marinette's heart fluttered. "A friend of mine gave it to me on Friday night."

" _Oh la la._ Friday night huh? Was it a date?" Alya asked.

Adrien blushed and shook his head. "Well, sorta…" he rubbed the back of his neck.

Alya patted Marinette's shoulder a little too hard and said, "What a coincidence. Marinette also had a 'sorta date' too. And whoever she went with gave her this." She gently held the black cat and ladybug charm to show it to the rest. "See? It says something at the back but Mari won't let me see it."

Marinette snatched the charm away from her friend's fingers and settled it back over her chest.

Adrien grinned inwardly; he knew exactly what it said. "It looks nice." He commented with a wink.

Marinette blushed more than usual, a bit more nervous than before. Adrien had the same bracelet she had given Chat Noir Friday night.

You would think that the bracelet would be the only evidence she needed to know that Adrien was Chat. But you're wrong. She still couldn't see Adrien and Chat as one.

Adrien in the other hand was thrilled to know that his Lady was behind him all this time. He couldn't explain what he felt, he felt happy, excited, nervous… sad. He ignored Marinette all this time because he was being loyal to Ladybug, but he didn't know that Mari was Ladybug in the first place.

He had come up with a plan over night; he would convince Marinette he was Chat Noir, that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste. "It looks… _purr_ -fect on you actually."

…

…

…

Two Akumas in a day is tiring, but six in a _week_ is exhausting. It was already Friday and Ladybug and Chat Noir had just finished purifying the dark butterfly when the sound of sirens filled the streets of Paris.

"Another robbery?" Chat groaned as he and Ladybug jumped over the roofs to arrive at the crime scene.

"This is the… third?" Ladybug asked as she pulled her yoyo back to her.

It had all started on Monday afternoon, school had just finished when Chloe caused an akumatization on some random student in her way. It was a weak villain though, so it was a quick fight. The next day there were two Akumas, and then on Wednesday there was only one and on Thursday there was another one, and finally we have the Akuma they had defeated recently, the toughest one yet.

Both of them knew it, it was destiny that wanted them to spend more time together ever since they figured out who they were. They hadn't said a word about it though and they didn't know when.

"Yeah, I think so." Chat replied. "Let's catch this scrawny mouse!" the boy jumped down from the rooftops and ran on all fours towards the thief.

Ladybug sighed and landed in front of Sabrina's father. "Is it the same one from last time?" she asked.

With a nod, Sabrina's father sighed. "We can seem to catch him, he somehow gets away like… like a…"

"Like a mouse?" Ladybug asked with an eyebrow raised. He nodded, agreeing with her quickly. "Well if you would've let us help then he wouldn't have escaped two times already. But, we've got the right cat for the situation now."

"Heh, well…. He is a cat after all." He said.

Ladybug hummed in response. "In any minute now..." A few minutes passed and a loud scream of help could be heard from the other side of the street.

"Get him off of me!" the thief yelled as he was dodging Chat Noir repeatedly. The blonde cat boy was leaping in the air trying to catch his little "mouse" with no avail. But he sure brought the thief to the right place.

The police circled around the thief and Chat; they took the boy off the thief and arrested the man seconds later.

"Thank you Chat Noir, you captured our mouse."

The boy bowed slightly and chuckled. "If you have another mouse to catch, I'm the right cat for the job." The boy winked before leaving with his partner.

"Well done Chat Noir." Ladybug said as she raised her fist towards him. Chat smiled and bumped her fist with his own.

"Thank you my Lady." He said. "I hope you aren't tired from the recent Akumas, you are the one who purifies them."

Ladybug smiled. "Thankfully I'm not, thanks to you kitty." She gave a slight nod and grabbed her yoyo.

"Ladybug! Wait!" Chat said as he grabbed her arm before she left again.

"What is it Chat?" Ladybug asked, confused. She frowned a little when she saw the tips of Chat's ears flatten slightly. "What's wrong?"

"I… I think we need to talk." The boy said, there was a serious tone in his voice that made Ladybug understand that this was important for him. With a sigh, she nodded and both of them jumped to the roofs where not a soul would hear.

They leaned against the chimney of a random house and looked at each other for a moment. Not sure what to say, Chat was the first to open his mouth.

"I… I know." He said simply, head down. It was too obvious now. "Your hair is jet black and your eyes blue as the heavens…" he sighed and continued reciting the poem he wrote for her on Valentine's Day. "Would you like to be my valentine?" he once heard Marinette tell Alya about his letter, he now knew that it was her who wrote back to him, now he knew that his Lady had read it.

Ladybug didn't say a word, she blinked twice and grabbed his hand; with her thumb, she caressed his ring. "I know too… A…Adrien." She looked up at him, her blue eyes twinkling, her fainted freckled cheeks tainted with a soft shade of red.

Thick black clouds appeared from nowhere and started to cover the blue skies, the soft roll of thunder made Chat's shiver even stronger.

The way she had said his name, his real name gave him the shivers. How she blushed, how she looked at him… "I'm so sorry Marinette, I'm so sorry for ignoring you all this time. I-I didn't know…" he murmured. He never saw Marinette more than a friend because his heart belonged to Ladybug, but now that he knew who was under the mask…

"And I'm sorry for ignoring you… I-I… my heart had already belonged to Adrien when I saw your flirting. Do you know how hard it was for me to accept you being Chat? It was so hard for me to assimilate how similar you are. I should've noticed… you act like Chat outside of the costume you know. But I never saw it!"

He took her hands in his and smiled. "When I noticed that I had fallen for you, do you know what I said?" he asked as he gently passed his lips over her knuckles.

Ladybug blushed a little harder and shook her head. "What did you say?" she asked.

Chat grinned and rubbed her cheek with his right thumb. "I'm in love with the girl who is under that mask." He said. "And the girl underneath that mask, Ladybug…. is no more than the world's cutest and amazing girl, Marinette Dupain Cheng."

"You really think so? But it's just plain me…"

"There's nothing plain in you, Marinette."

"Thank you."

The first droplets of rain fell onto the heroes' costumes made them laugh from irony, the rain…

"Remember the first time we met?" Ladybug asked. Chat grinned and pulled her close, he wrapped his arms around her, protecting her from the rain.

"Of course I do. I will never forget that day."

"Yeah… me neither."

 _Chat snuggled into her hair and kissed her head. "Well… we better get going, Princess."_

* * *

 **Super late update! Real sorry! I was so busy with school! I had parcials, homework every day, Karate training every day too... But I hoped you enjoyed this Chapter. 2 or 1 more chapter and Indirect Date finishes. :(**

 **But hey! I added the rain in there all because of the Origins Episodes, I had too because that scene killed me a thousands of times!**

 **And Jackady was a real good ep! Gabriel and Adrien/Chat Noir interactions killed me again! If you haven't seen them... WATCH THEM!**


	7. The cat and the cold

Adrien woke with a small smile on his face. By the look of his clock, it was five in the morning, more than enough time for school. So he sat upright on his bed, he move his shoulders and he heard them pop quietly. He felt different… good different. There was this feeling deep down in his gut that he had never felt before.

He looked out his window; the streets of Paris were still quiet and dark. Adrien looked to walk about the Parisian roofs at this time, it was always peaceful.

Plagg's huge ears twitched above his head, his eyes opened just after that. "Hey~" he purred sleepily floating over to Adrien's face. He settled on his head and looked down at the boy. "You look… different or maybe it's because I haven't eaten yet, where's my cheese?"

The boy's bright green eyes moved to meet those of his kwami. "I don't look different Plagg." He said completely ignoring the cat's rant of cheese. "I _feel_ different." His eyes gleamed in the dim lit room.

If Plagg had eyebrows, he'd be raising one by now. "Adrien, Adrien, Adrien…" he shook his head slowly. "IT'S LOVE, RELIEF, IT'S CHEESE!" he shouted passionately. (Though he was quiet enough to be only heard in the room).

The untransformed hero gave his kwami a funny look. "Is cheese the only thing you talk about Plagg?" he asked wrinkling his nose slightly.

"What?" the kwami asked throwing his hands in the air. "I love cheese as much as you love Ladybug!"

"Marinette." Adrien corrected the tiny cat with a raised eyebrow. He sighed when her name flowed out of his mouth. "I'm so glad Ladybug and Marinette are the same person, they are both very important to me."

Plagg let a small growl tickle his throat for a while and crossed his arms over his tiny body. "I don't know if you ever noticed, but you were naturally attracted to her." He said. "Haven't you ever noticed how she spoke to you?"

Adrien blinked thrice and shrugged his shoulders. "She's always stuttering around me and acts strange; at first I thought she hated me or something."

"She was shy!" Plagg explained. "I still can't believe how blind you were!" he exclaimed.

Adrien quickly grabbed the kwami in his hands, he was being too loud. "I might've not noticed her before, but I'll make sure to make it up to her. I called her "Princess" and I'll totally treat her like one, I'll spoil her even if she doesn't like it." He said determinately.

Plagg grinned; his tiny fangs shimmered in the dim dawn light. "Well you better, if not I'll be asking for more cheese than usual. By the way, where's my Camembert?

Adrien sighed and pointed towards the closed cabinet at a corner. "While you took one of your long cat naps, I took the liberty to buy all the cheese I owe you." He said.

The kwami's ears perked up; purring loudly, he flew towards the pile of cheese. "Hurray!" he cheered before throwing cheese all around the room. "This is paradise~"

Adrien chuckled softly. "I won't be cleaning that up." He gave Plagg an annoyed look, it wasn't the first time he messed his room up, and it won't be the last. He stood up and passed a hand through his head to get it out of his face once more. He walked towards the bathroom.

"Hey, where are you going?" Plagg asked, though he knew clearly what the boy was doing.

The blonde stuck his head out of the room. " _Une douche._ " He replied, not knowing why his kwami asked in the first place.

"Oh~ A shower to wake Mr. Adrien up? Marvellous Idea." The cat like creature purred before sticking a whole piece of cheese in his mouth.

The boy rolled his eyes before closing the door. His fingers grabbed the knob and he twisted it to see water flow down towards him. He felt more than excited to go to school today…

…

…

…

The sun was up by now, students came in and out of the school doors… classes had not yet started.

Nino waited patiently for his friend to show up, he balanced himself on the balls of his feet, his head bobbing softly to the beat of his new mix. The limo showed up and the DJ quickly lowered his headphones to greet his friend. He walked over to the open door and Adrien emerged from there, smiling brighter than ever.

"Hey Nino." He said with a slight nod.

"Morning dude, have a good night's sleep?" the boy with glasses asked patting his friend on the back softly.

"Of course I did, why do you ask?" Adrien questioned since Nino had never asked him that question before.

Nino looked towards the sky. "Oh it's a beautiful day, your hair is shiner, your clothes look shiner, your smile, looks shiner." He commented. "I… I've never seen you like this." He said.

And it was true, when did Adrien look so happy without even trying? Even how he walked gave hints of how happy he was.

Adrien blinked twice, he shrugged. "I dunno, just feel happy today. Have you seen Marinette?" he looked from side to side in search of his Lady.

Nino chuckled. "Dude, that's another thing I was meaning to tell you; you've been paying quite some attention to her these days." He looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow was the got closer to the locker room.

Adrien blushed slightly. "Really? Heh, I-I never noticed." He rubbed his neck. "Is it that bad?"

"Yeah man, what's up with that?" Nino crossed his arms and looked at the teenager with an interested look.

"Well… I realized that I might… I think I like her." The boy replied with a quick glance at the floor. He could feel his cheeks burning.

"Finally!" Nino exclaimed. "It's finally happening!" he clapped Adrien on the back, maybe a little too hard because the blonde stumbled forward.

"Huh?" the confusion was clear on his face. He had no idea what Nino was talking about. "What's finally happening?"

"Are you serious dude?" Nino grabbed his shoulders. "You and Marinette! That's what's happening!" he exclaimed.

Adrien opened his locker and took out his books. He took a quick glance at his friend and put his books inside his bag, knowing Plagg probably slept inside. He had eaten a lot. "Well, she is really special." He mumbled. "Didn't you like Marinette? I thought you did." He noted.

Nino chuckled nervously, he nodded. "Yeah, I did. But lately, I've noticed that she's better with you. I might not be her type anyways. Alya caught my eye a few months ago… this is about you dude, not me." he corrected himself. "Alya has been trying to get you two together for some time you know,

"Really?" The surprise on Adrien's face made Nino laugh. "I never noticed."

"When it comes to girls, you never notice." Nino sighed. He grabbed his own stuff and together, walked into their first class. He sat down and his place and Adrien did the same. He really wanted to know what was making Adrien so happy, he got a little suspicious when the blonde looked desperately towards the door.

One by one, the students filled in the classroom: Sabrina, Kim, Nathanael, Max, Chloe, Ivan, Mylene, Juleka, Rose, Alix… Alya…

The boy waited impatiently for Marinette, but she didn't come. She wasn't behind Alya like she normally was. _She's probably late, yeah, she's always late._ He waited and waited, but the only person who walked through the door was Ms. Bustier.

While she took assistance (and after she said his name),Adrien turned around to talk with Alya. "Hi Alya, um… Mari not coming today?"

"Bonjour Adrien, she left with her parents to the Countryside over the weekend, it rained hard and well… she got sick."

Adrien's heart sank, he wasn't going to see his Lady all day, but the worse was that she was sick. "Oh, I hope she gets better soon." He turned around and slumped into his seat. Now how will I see Mari?

"Dude! You okay? You look blue, just a moment ago you were so happy!" Nino pointed out as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Buddy, feel okay?"

Adrien looked devastated, he was so excited to see his Lady and she wasn't there.

"Adrien." Nino called once again, his friend hadn't replied since the first time he called him. "Dude."

"Huh?" the blonde turned his gaze towards Nino. He didn't know what happened and he smiled nervously. "Sorry, I got distracted." He said with a hand behind his head.

Nino didn't believe him, yet, he nodded. "If something is bothering you, you can always count on me, you know that right?"

Adrien had turned his gaze back down to the desk. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Nino." He raised his eyes to meet those of his friend. Nino seemed satisfied with that and put his focus on the class.

 _I just hope he's fine._ Nino thought before setting his chin on his hand.

Alya glanced down at Adrien, she was confused. She had told him why Mari hadn't come and he turned blue. _And did he call her Mari? That's strange… good strange_. Making sure Ms. Bustier wasn't looking, Alya took her phone out and sent a quick message to Marinette. Oh she's going to love this!

…

…

…

The room was dark, the curtains closed, the only light in the room was the soft reflection of the pink curtains.

Marinette slept under a few too many covers, in her hands was the small cat pillow, it seemed to comfort her.

Tikki was close by, staring at how Marinette slept. Poor girl, caught in the rain when she got lost in the small forest. "I wonder what I can do to help her?" she asked herself while playing with a chocolate chip of the cookie Marinette had left her last night.

The buzz of a phone sounded from a far and Tikki rushed over to it. It was a message from Alya.

 **Good morning Mari, I hope you feel better girl. I think this news will cheer you up a little. Guess who asked for you today? Adrien! When I told him you were sick, he became really sad. I think he's starting to like you! This is good news Marinette! I hope I can give you a quick visit at lunch!**

 **Love ya!**

 **Alya.**

"Aww! That's nice of Alya!" Tikki whispered. "Should I wake Marinette? Yeah, I should." Flying over to the girl, Tikki slid into her covers softly. She poked her holder's cheek gently, "Mari… Mari…"

The girl let out a small groan, she clearly wanted to stay sleeping. "Tikki… what's wrong?" she mumbled into her pillow.

"Alya sent a message. And Adrien is mentioned in it."

"Adrien?" Marinette turned her head around to face her kwami, in front of her was her phone, the message still there. Sighing, the girl sat up and took the covers off of her face. "Hmm… I wonder what happened?" her voice was quiet and rough.

Tikki looked at Marinette. "He was asking about you." She mentioned hoping to cheer her up.

And it worked, the girl's eyes brightened and a smile spread on her face. "Silly kitty…" she whispered. "I should've told him, he wouldn't be blue if it were for me."

"Nonsense, it happened with no warning, he'll be fine." The red kwami tried to calm Mari down. She nuzzled Marinette's cheek in reassurance.

"Hehe, I'm hungry. I think I'll go downstairs to get some breakfast." She swung her feet out of bed and rubbed her face. "What time is it?"

"Late." Her mother replied as she opened the trap door. "Morning Marinette."

Marinette let out a screech, for she had been startled. Once she calmed down, she let a smile cover her face. "Morning Mama."

"Sorry I scared you honey, I just came up to see if you were awake. I brought you breakfast." Sabine held up a tray with egg soup and some bread. "I thought it would help your throat." She left the tray on the floor before finishing climbing up. She picked it up once more and kissed her daughters cheek. "It's a bit dark in here, don't you think?" she walked over to the window.

"Yeah, sorry." Marinette apologized. "I just wanted to sleep in a little." She admitted.

Sabine chuckled and nodded. "I understand. But it's time to open them up a little."

Marinette walked over to her mother and grabbed the tray from her hands. "Thank you Mama. It smells great."

"I know, I know. I'm the best." Sabine giggled. She opened a curtain and looked at her daughter. "You okay?" she asked Marinette, whose face was as pale as a sheet.

"Huh? Me? O-Of, course, might be the light." Mari stuttered before looking away from the window. Was that actually him or was she still dreaming?

"My poor girl. I wonder how your fever is." Sabine touched her daughters forehead, it was burning. "I'll go see what we have for this. I'll come back in a few minutes." she nodded towards the bowl of soup as a reminder for Marinette to eat.

"O-Okay Mama, love you." the girl took a sip of the soup and it settled nicely in her stomach. "Delicious!"

"I love you too Marinette."

The trap door closed and Marinette took a deep breath, please tell me it was just my imagination.

Tikki flew out of her hiding place. "It's just your imagination." She heard a thump from behind her and stiffened.

"Oh no..."

"Hey Purrinces…" Chat purred into Marinette's ear. His hands were behind his back and his tail swished from side to side.

"What are you doing here Agreste?"

He was supposed to be in class, stupid cat!


	8. The Fashion Show

She could hear his grin from behind her back. Marinette wouldn't turn around to meet his gaze, is she did… she'd melt to the floor.

"What am I doing here?" Chat asked, his position never changing. "Why… my Lady's sick and I wanted to make sure she's okay." He replied.

Marinette turned around ever so slightly, what she saw made her heart flutter and her mind race. His smile looked so sincere, the look in his eyes was so pure… filled with genuine love and care… he stood up straight, his head titled to a side and his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for Mari to give him a sign. His fake tail swished from side to side but its movements began to grow more violent as he grew more impatient. He simply looked adorable.

Marinette sighed; she turned around and opened her arms. Walking over to him, she wrapped her hands around him, squeezing him lightly. "Thanks Adrien." She buried her face into his chest. "That's nice of you to visit."

Chat became a little surprised, his cheeks turning a little pink. He slowly wrapped his arms against his Lady's frame and nuzzled against her hair. A soft purr emerged from his throat, calming the two. The moment lasted for a while before Chat opened his eyes. He grabbed her shoulders softly and pushed her away from him to look at her in the eye. "How do you feel? Dizzy? Stomach aches? What me to get you something? I brought you something anyways because I thought—"

Marinette giggled. "Chaton, please; I don't need anything." She said before coughing into her sleeve. "My mom has already given me all I need; she'll come up any minute now."

Chat grinned. "Oh, this cat can hide pretty well Princess." He said, bowing slightly.

"Well, then…" Marinette crossed her arms. "You better hide, now." She didn't even bother to see where he hid, turning around, she walked over to where her egg soup laid. She sat down and resumed eating; it wasn't that cold so she still enjoyed the warm taste.

"Marinette, I couldn't find any medicine. I guess I'll have to go buy some. Think you can wait a little longer honey?"

Marinette swallowed slowly and turned to her mother. "Don't worry Mama, you go ahead. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Sabine nodded. "Okay then, I hope you'll feel a little better by the time I come back." She said waving.

The girl waved back at her mother, smiling. "Okay, be careful Ma—"

"Meow~"

Holy… Marinettte froze.

"What was that?" Sabine stopped at the top of the stairs.

Marinette stiffened. "Nothing Mom! Maybe just a stray cat!" she replied pushing her mother down the stairs. What does Chat think he's doing?! "I'll take care of it."

"Okay…" Sabine said hesitantly. "Good luck." She closed the trap door and finished to walk down the stairs.

It was then that Marinette breathed out the air that she was holding. Turning around, she searched for Chat with her eyes furrowed."What was that?!" she demanded, her hands curled into fists at her side.

The superhero came out of his hiding place. "That… that wasn't me." he stated.

"What? You're the only cat here!" Mari exclaimed. She didn't believe him one bit.

Chat chuckled at the sight of her and turned around to pick out a white cat. "He did."

"Oh." Marinette petted the cat's head and looked up at Chat. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Chat smiled. "It's okay my Lady." He said as he put the cat down on the floor. It gave out one last meow before jumping out the window. ""

"You should go back to school." The blue hair girl said taking a look at the clock. "You are already late." Her breath hitched as she heard Adrien's detransformation.

"But I don't want to." Adrien wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her head. "I want my Lady to be safe and sound…"

Mari's heart was about to burst into flames, her knees could buckle underneath her any moment now. Oh, what this boy could make her feel. "But I am safe, Adrien." She turned around to face him. Staring at his green eyes, she said "Please, go. I don't your dad to get mad at you. Just go."

…

…

…

Adrien made sure no one was at the school courtyard and jumped down, running towards the stairs, he detransformed. "A little late, but no one will notice, hopefully." He said to himself before gesturing to Plagg to hide inside his shirt.

The kwami grinned at his holder; his arms were crossed across his chest. His green eyes looked at Adrien mischievously. "Who's the sneaky alley cat now, hm?" he purred before settling himself inside the boy's shirt.

The young model flushed a little and shook his head. "It's still you, Plagg." He ran up the stairs to his next class and quietly opened the door.

She saw him, but said nothing due to his silence. She continued giving the class as if nothing happened.

Nino looked at his best buddy and raised an eyebrow as the boy sat down next to him. He waited until the teacher wrote on the board before talking to Adrien. "Dude, this is the first time you skip a class and coming late to the next one." He said calmly, his chin rested on his palm. Yeah, he had come late to class sometimes, or skipped class when there was an Akuma attack, but never when there _wasn't_ one.

The blonde took out his things and glanced at the page number on Nino's book before opening his own. "I…" he settled it on the desk and looked at Nino sideways, "I visited Marinette." He whispered with a small blush on his cheeks. He heard a small chuckle from inside his shirt.

The DJ opened his eyes in surprise. "Say what?" he nudged his friend gently with his elbow. "You visited her?! What happened?" he demanded softly, he made sure the teacher wasn't looking before grabbing Adrien's shoulder. "Spill the beans." He chuckled at the end.

"C-Can't I tell you later? I don't want to get into trouble, Nino." Adrien asked his friend; he also wanted to tell him but this was a bad moment to do so. Couldn't that boy wait? He snapped his head towards the teacher when she turned around to give instructions on their exercise.

"Nu-uh. You'll tell me everything after this period, dude. _Everything._ " Nino said under his breath as he too, listened to the instructions.

Adrien let out a little sigh. _Nino just can't wait._ He glanced down at the bracelet Marinette had given him the day of the date and smiled.

Nothing of this would have happened if Adrien hadn't hugged Marinette earlier the day Chat Noir invited Ladybug to a date. He wouldn't know who Ladybug is if it weren't for his actions; he wouldn't know Marinette had a crush on him, not by just being a model, heck, she didn't even know _who_ he was at the beginning, but she liked him for being himself. Not for being famous, not for being good looking, not by his name, but because she got to know who he really was: A boy who just wanted to go to school like every other kid; a boy who sometimes wished a much more simple life; a boy who just wanted friends…

He let out a small laugh before beginning his exercise. He found it funny that his other half, was just behind him all this time; his partner, his friend, his Lady… the girl behind the mask.

…

…

…

People surrounded the theatre, photographers, journalists, fans of all ages. Lights illuminated the dark streets of Paris, for today, was Gabriel Agreste's fashion show.

The limousine pulled up the curb; the crowd went dead quiet; the driver walked out and opened the back door, Gabriel Agreste emerged from it wearing a white tuxedo with a red tie; the photographers shot at him with their cameras as if they were crazy paparazzi.

Gabriel stood not far from the open door and extended his hand into the car. Marinette climbed out of it wearing a light pink dress with a white sweater on top. " _Merci._ " She thanked Gabriel with a smile before letting go once her feet were safely on the ground.

The fashion designer smiled back softly at her. "I hope you're ready, Ms. Marinette. This is a fashion after all and it has to be taken seriously, young lady, but..." he glanced at his son, who had dressed with a black tux and a green tie that matched his eyes.

Marinette stood there, awaiting the rest of his sentence. Was she in trouble? Was he going to give her some advice? What?

Gabriel chuckled softly. "…That doesn't mean you can't have a little fun." He placed a hand on her shoulder and Marientte giggled.

"Yes sir." She replied with a smile before turning around slightly to look at Adrien. She had already seen him in the suit earlier and she almost fainted, but the way the lights shone over him, the way he smiled and waved at the crowd, it made her knees weak once more.

Adrien looked towards her and smiled before walking over to her side. "My lady." He winked at her and grabbed her hand gently. "Did I already mention how radiant you are tonight?" he asked with his Chat Noir grin.

"We're in public you know," Marinette smiled shyly at him. "But, thank you. You look great too, Adrien".

"Dudes, don't forget about me." Nino almost fell as he climbed out of the limousine, "Don't leave me behind." He regained his composure and jogged towards the three. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the boy and the DJ chuckled nervously. "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Agreste." He said titling his head downwards. "I won't disappoint you, sir." He gave the man a smile and caught up with his friends.

"I doubt it." Gabriel said to himself before following the group of friends into the building. "It's empty for now, but in a few minutes, this whole place will be bursting with people." He commented to the teenagers in front of him. "That is where you'll be modeling, children." His moved his hand towards the stage at their right. "I hope my son, has given you good quality classes because this is where you'll show everyone how good you look in my fashion line."

Marinette looked over at the stage and gulped. _What if I fall and make myself look bad among so many people? I could ruin Gabriel's show!_

Adrien and Nino must have seen how she felt because they put their arms around her shoulders. "You'll be fine Mari." They said in unison, they didn't want to see Marinette nervous, that whole point of this was to have fun.

The girl looked at them both and relaxed. "Thanks." She smiled at them both. "Well," she took a deep breath, "let's do this."

…

"Tonight, Gabriel Agreste will present to us, his newest fashion line. It was inspired by our local superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir." Nathalie said as she stood on the stage, all the lights were shining on her. "And we have two new people who will model this beautiful fashion line. We hope you enjoy the show." She turned around and walked backstage.

The crowd clapped and cheered.

Adrien, Nino and Marinette had already put the clothes on and were waiting patiently for their turn. There were a few other models in front of them, they all wore different attires.

"Oh my, I feel so nervous! I hope nothing goes wrong!" Marinette held her hands close to her chest. "But the fabric on this is very soft and warm." She commented to distract herself a little. "And so pretty…"

Nino looked down at his own outfit and then looked at himself in the mirror. "Hm, I don't look that bad now that I think about." He made a few poses and pulled down his glasses ever so slightly. "Yep, I'm ready for this." He winked at himself in the mirror.

The blonde boy chuckled at his friend and slugged his shoulder. "You look ready." He commented looking at his friend through the mirror.

"It's because I am, man!" Nino turned to look at him. "I can't wait to show those people what I am made of!" he struck a pose and Marinette puffed her cheeks to contain her laughter. Adrien let out a short laugh.

"I wish I were as confident as you are, Nino." Marinette sighed. "And I'm up next." She looked at herself in the mirror and took some time to actually look at what she was wearing.

A casual ladybug stamp shirt, black pants and dark red shoes. It actually fit her nicely.

She let out a small gasp when she suddenly saw Adrien beside her. "You'll just fine, show them what you've got Princess." He guided her towards the curtain and pushed her ever so slightly after the other model came back.

Marinette took a deep breath and walked on to the catwalk. The camera's flashes blinded her momentarily, but that didn't stop her from losing her step. She stood the middle for a few seconds and then continued walking until she reached the end of the catwalk. She thought fast and made struck a pose. She smiled a little and twisted her hips to the right, then, she walked back where she could see Adrien and Nino waiting for her with a smile.

Just as she was about to step back in, she stumbled a little and fell on top of both of the boys. "S-Sorry guys!" she giggled, she couldn't help it.

Nino and Adrien looked at each other and laughed themselves too. "Well, at least you didn't fall down in front of them, Mari." Nino said comfortingly.

The three helped each other stand up and Nino stood in front of the curtain. "Time to shine guys." He shook the "dust" off his suit before walking onto the catwalk.

Marinette could hear claps and camera snaps. "The design on that suit is so unique! I just love the colours!" She heard someone in the public say. "And the tie is so beautiful." Said another. Had they commented on what she wore or was she too distracted to hear?

"Nino is doing a great job." Adrien said as he watched his friend give a bow to the crowd. "They love it." He added with a smile.

"Did I do a good job? I didn't ruin it, did I?" Marinette looked down at the ground.

Adrien shook his head. "No, you did an awesome job out there, Marinette." He looked around, making sure no one was looking, he placed a small kiss on her cheek.

"Adrien!" Marinette squeaked. She looked at him dead in the eye and hid her face inside the shirt. "My God Adrien." She mumbled.

"What?" Adrien chuckled at her and nudged her with her elbow. "It's for the great job you did out there."

Marinette peaked out of her shirt and smiled shyly.

"That was so awesome! I can't wait to do it again! The crowd loved me!" Nino exclaimed once he returned to the backstage. "Adrien, dude, you're up after this girl over there." He gestured to the model in front of them.

The blonde nodded at Nino. "Thanks, time to shine." He made sure his semi formal Chat Noir attire was smoothened and waited for his turn. "Wish me luck." He winked at both of his friends.

"Bon chance…" Marinette waved a little before he left to the catwalk. She giggled at inside pun she made in her head and sighed happily.

So her partner turned out to be her crush, what a coincidence… or was it destiny? Marinette didn't care; nothing of this would have happened if she hadn't invited Adrien to her baking competition.

She sighed as she watched Adrien turn around and walk back to them. Adrien being Chat Noir was no problem now; he could be the sweet and adorable boy and be her flirtatious teammate at the same time. And she loved it.

The more she thought about it, she was glad to have gone to Chat's date; if she used her imagination, one could say it was an… Indirect Date for both of them.

 **And cut!**

 **That's the end of my first Miraculous Ladybug story Miraculers. I hope you enjoyed all this suspense between chapters, but I am glad I finished it in less than a year. I've been very busy and I write when I can. I got inspired yesterday and wrote 70% of this chapter yesterday.**

 **More stories will come, I assure you. But this time, I'll have them prepared. ;)**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, the follows and the favourites, I appreciate all of them! Thank you my faithful readers! :D**


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